


Desert Flower

by desrouleaux



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies), Mad Max:Fury Road
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, F/M, Fist Fights, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Medicinal Drug Use, Pre-Movie(s), Rituals, Roughness, Self-Mutilation, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-04-04 19:46:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4150521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desrouleaux/pseuds/desrouleaux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He knows war and death. She knows peace and life  –  and yet they seem to connect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The desert sun was brutal – as always. It made her skin burn and her throat tingle with thirst; but she still tried to convince herself that she would get used to it. The heat, the thirst, and the pain.

 _“Pain will remind you that you’re still alive. Still fighting. Keep fighting_.”

She remembered the words of her dear mother like a kind of prayer. Something to hold on to in the Wasteland.

_“Keep fighting.”_

But the pain started to pull her down, and it forced her down to her knees. It was hard to keep moving. It was hard to keep breathing in the sour air, and it was even harder for her not to beg for death in that very moment. Just a sweet relief and a chance to find her own paradise after all.

The worst thing was that she knew death would not come to her fast. She knew that it would be slow and painful, and it would make her change her mind only seconds before she would suck in her last needy breath of the toxic air, before her heart would finally give its last weak beat.

She tried to distract herself from thoughts like that. Thoughts which haunted her in her sleep. Thoughts she should actually be ashamed of. Oh, if only her dear mother knew.

_“Keep fighting, my child. Please.”_

She tried to focus on the big blurry silhouette in front of her, though it was still miles away.

The fortress which would hopefully grant her life and a chance, or so she was told, was in view. And although everyone she once knew had never actually tried to get there, it was the sheer thought of the Citadel which gave her a feeling of hope. Even though the thought of meeting the man who ruled it, who had fixed it, made her stomach twist into a knot of anxiety.

He was feared, along with his allies. But it was his name which was only dared to be mentioned in a whisper among her people – _The_ _Immortan Joe_.

She noticed how her own heart skipped a beat at the thought of him. She was scared. Terrified to say the least, but she kept going anyway; kept walking over wavy dunes, hot sand and pointy rocks. She had nothing left but the tattered clothes she wore on her scrawny body and the things she carried in her likewise tattered rucksack. All by herself, with no other place to go, she kept her eyes fixated on the silhouette in the distance.

And once she arrived, she could always leave – right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah... this is my first non-German Fanfiction so please have mercy :D I'm really trying my best and I'm looking forward to every review/comment from my dear readers ♥
> 
> Prologue updated: 05/12/2017


	2. Arrival

She had been lost in her bittersweet memories, before she finally heard them. Roaring engines and cheering people. Men, she assumed. The worst thing was that she could not see them approaching. Were they coming for her? Was she in trouble? Maybe there were more people around. People she couldn't see, because of the high dunes and her tired eyes. Maybe they were coming to help?

But suddenly she was not so sure anymore. Had she made a huge mistake by coming all this way? It was too late anyway; too late to turn around. From what she had already seen, the towers of the Citadel were high. People could easily spot any approaching humans – vehicles, creatures, and threats.

She could barely stand. How could she fight them if they were not friendly?

_“You keep fighting.”_

Her mother’s voice screamed. She flinched. “I don’t think I can.” Her voice was just a hoarse whisper, for she had not spoken in a long time.

“ _You must!”_

She suppressed a sob and straightened her back instead. She tried to look healthy, strong – but she knew that she was failing miserably.

Then she could finally see them, just as they passed the hill in front of her. Her heart started hammering in her chest; pumping adrenaline through her weak body, as her eyes scanned the horizon.

She stopped walking and observed, even though her brain screeched for her to run. She tried to convince her instincts to stay and to not be afraid of the foreign people on those odd cars – obviously equipped with heavy weaponry.

At the very moment, when the roaring of their engines died down and the feeling of countless pairs of eyes staring at her settled in, she was not sure if she was dreaming. Maybe it was all just a mirage caused by dehydration or a sunstroke. Or maybe they were indeed the bearer of death, the minions of the devil itself, who were finally coming to get her.

“Scouts were right. It’s just a roamer!” One of the skeletons standing on the back of a car yelled and pointed his bony finger at her.

She felt weak and exposed as her knees started to shake. She wanted to say something, to assure them she was willing to go with them without resistance if it meant relief, but no words slipped over her lips. She was frozen with fear.

“Slit?” Another one of them suddenly said. He was sitting in a different car and the skeleton who was standing on its back perch, suddenly jumped off it. Her body trembled as he started to saunter towards her. Was _slit_ a commando for something other than to slit her throat right then and there?

“Get him. We’ll bring him back to Organic.”, the Driver ordered.

As he got closer, she realized that they were in fact just boys, and very much alive. She could see that he was covered in some kind of white paint, and it had already dried and chipped in various spots on his upper naked body. Unlike the rest of his body, his bald head and forehead were smeared with black grease.

She abruptly took a step back from the intimidating boy when she noticed the murderous look in his blue eyes.

“Hey, messy!”, he growled dangerously and grabbed one of her arms. Her head started to spin as soon as she saw his messed-up face up-close.

“No biting, no scratching or I will –“

“Slit! Just bring him back already!”, the Driver called out again, while her body trembled harder. His mouth twisted into a grimace when he snarled back. Her legs gave in as her vision faded.

Reflexively, he caught her in his arms, before her unconscious body could fall to the ground.

* * *

After the squad had arrived back at the garage, Slit of all people had been given the task to get the new arrival to Organic.

“Ah, blood bag or potential breeder?”, The doctor asked as soon as Slit had entered his Blood Shed. However, he could only shrug as he carelessly placed her on the next empty bunk.

“Dunno.“, he answered as the man hovered over his new patient. Slit was unfazed when the other man suddenly ripped the roamers dusty clothes open and revealed a female’s bare body.

“Can’t see any bumps or skin disease.”, Organic murmured to himself and ordered a War Pup standing nearby to take a blood sample. “Potential breeder it is.”, he judged as Slit dared a quick glance at her after the new given title.

''Hey, – would you mind? I'm trying to work here!”, The chronically drooling man barked and shoved Slit aside. The War Boy moved without resistance. _Whatever._ To him, she was neither shiny nor interesting.

The news about her spread fast and soon after her arrival, Immortan Joe was already waiting in his Hightower.

“It's a girl, Dad.”, Rictus told him for the third time. “Organic says she's a Full Life, too!”, The man child exclaimed cheerfully; thinking that maybe, just maybe, his time had come to finally pick a wife.

However, his father ignored him and kept breathing in his clean air as thoughts about his own unborn child occupied his mind again. His first perfect and healthy son which could be born in a couple of months. He had five good breeders already; the best one pregnant with his potential heir. He did not need another one to take care of, for he knew that he was not capable to breed any more anyway.

“Immortan Joe, sir.”, a voice behind him called out to him.

It was his newest appointed Imperator, Atticus. He made a gesture for Atticus to continue, so the Imperator stepped in front of him, bowing his head quickly.

“The girl, sir. Organic informed me she gained consciousness again.”

Immortan Joe nodded in approval and kept his smile hidden under his mask. Even though he knew that another Wife was unnecessary now, he couldn’t help himself.

“Well, then –  get her!”, he commanded cheerfully. “And make sure she looks decent!”

* * *

“What a shame.”, Organic mumbled to himself as he watched the girl gulp down her second glass of Aqua Cola.

“Where are my clothes? Where’s my stuff?”

He was a little shocked at how calm she sounded, although she was sitting on a bunk, left with a dirty old shawl to cover herself. “I want it back. _Everything._ ”

The doctor snickered. “It's not my duty to watch out for yer things, sunshine. I'm just the one who treats wounds and keeps the Half Lifes alive a lil’ longer, y'know.“, he explained to her and snatched the glass out of her hands.

“Where is the girl?”

Organic’s head snapped up to the sound of the Imperator. It was unusual for them to come down to his little area, but he knew it was because of her. Potential breeders were always of particular importance.

“Over here.”, The doctor answered and waved him over.

She turned her head to look at the man who was currently looking for her. He was tall and muscular, with tan skin and a painted forehead. Black and shiny. She felt exposed as he surveyed her up and down, and she pressed the beige shawl tighter around her body immediately.

“There is something you should know before you take her to Joe.”

Atticus frowned at the doctor. “What is it?”

She watched quietly as the men whispered to each other.

“Are you sure?”

The drooling man nodded.

“He still wants to see her.”

Organic shrugged. “So be it. I don’t care, but make sure to bring her back to me if he doesn’t want her, aye? I need s’um new donors.”

Atticus nodded quickly and proceeded to turn to the female. “You.” He pointed a gloved finger at her and noticed her shivering body. “Get up. Immortan wants to see ya.”

* * *

Immortan Joe had always enjoyed watching someone squirm with fear under his icy stare. Even more so if it was a woman in front of him.

She was shaking so bad; Joe was sure he could hear her teeth clatter and her heart beat under her soft bosom. She was unclean and blowsy, but that was alright for now. She would be pretty for him soon. She just needed a soaking bath and some shiny white linen cloths to cover her feminine body with. He smiled again and took a deep breath, before he spoke.

“Where are you from?”

She shuddered when he stepped closer towards her, and she avoided to look him in the eyes, but that was something he would teach her.

“I –” She sighted. “Everywhere.”

Joe noticed how she started to observe her surroundings like a trapped animal in a cage; yet she did not seem that feral at all. He also noticed how she kept staring at Rictus, who was standing nearby; intimidated by his son’s figure. Joe’s thin lips twisted into a malicious smile under his mask.

“I'm a desert nomad. We settled everywhere we could. Everywhere where our seeds could grow.”, she explained and straightened her back suddenly. Joe did not like that; the way she talked proudly about a low life like that.

“We got attacked. There is no one left but me.” All the sudden, her voice was small and her eyes teared up.

Joe nodded and hummed in approval as he circled her slowly. He took in every shape and imperfection of her body as he surveyed her. “You came all the way to me.”

His calloused chalk-powdered hand reached out to touch a strand of her brown messy hair.

“Why?”

She did not flinch nor back away from him; afraid of what would happen if she would deny him.

“For a chance of survival. I heard the stories – I heard about the supplies, the water and your army.”

He chuckled. His word had spread. _What a delight.,_ he thought. “How old are you?”

“About 7000 days, “, she answered, though she was not so sure anymore. She had stopped counting some time ago. She was lucky to be alive at all.

“That means you're still fertile.”

She gulped. _Fertile._ That word – she had heard it some time ago. Her mother and other women of her clan had explained what it meant. She shivered again as he stared her straight in the eyes. Her pulse rose and her cheeks heated up.

“No, she is not fertile anymore, sir.”

She felt like her heart would burst through her chest as soon as the man who had brought her to the Hightower opened his mouth.

“The Organic Mechanic has told me. She is way too scarred, too mutilated, sir.”

Joe huffed angrily. “Mutilated?” He stared at her; hard and skeptical. “Show me.”, he demanded and saw the usual horror on her face.

“I – I can confirm that. I was attacked when I was much – much younger.”, she tried to explain to him and felt how her throat tightened.

“I said _show me_.”

She yelped when a strong pair of arms grabbed her from behind; making her immobile, and after a quick nod from Joe the shawl was ripped from her.

“Attacked, yes?”, Joe asked distastefully while his eyes examined her body. Suddenly, the woman in front of him lost all her appeal to him as soon as he spotted the scars.

She nodded enthusiastically and gritted her teeth while she tried to keep herself from crying. “I fought him so bad that he just – well –“ It was hard for her to tell such things, while all these other men looked at her. She was not only scared of Immortan Joe, but the others as well. Especially the huge man with chin straps and odd containers on his back. He stared at her with a kind of intensity that made her skin crawl.

Joe was disappointed, yes, but he remembered his other healthy and perfect wives. “Well then, you can’t be my wife and you can’t become a Milk Mother, thus you’re useless to me.”, he said blandly and turned to Atticus. “Take her down to the wretched or do whatever you want with her. Just get her out of my sight.”

Atticus nodded and went to grab her again.

_“Fight, my child! Fight!”_

Her mother’s voice snapped her back to her harsh reality. “Wait!” She quickly wriggled herself out of the Imperator’s grip, snatched the piece of clothing off the floor and grabbed onto Immortan Joe’s arm.

The old man snarled as he turned around while the men around them gasped at her boldness.

“I’m not useless! I – I know…things! I can help!”

“What could **you** possibly help me with?”, Joe laughed after listening to her poor attempt to change his mind. Although, he had to admit – he liked her sudden flare attitude.

She realized that she was acting more disrespectful towards him than she should and instantly let go of his arm. “I could join your army and become one of your soldiers! I'm strong, I can do that.”

Immortan Joe started laughing, and soon almost everyone around them joined his mockery.

“You? A War Boy?” He roared with laughter, and his mask hissed.

“I can do that. I'm strong.”, she repeated, eyes fixated at the stony floor. “I survived the desert, I survived the raid.” She closed her eyes and saw the horrible images right before her mind’s eye. “I managed four brothers. I can handle everything!”

The laughing stopped abruptly, and she was grabbed by her hair. She hissed in pain and cursed under her breath.

“No one talks to Dad like that!”, The bear of a man barked into her ear and shook her like she weighted nothing.

“Enough, Rictus.“, Joe chuckled and ordered his son to back off, before he hovered over the naked weeping woman on the floor. “Tell me your name.”, he said as he offered his hand to her.

She sobbed quietly, but accepted his help through blurry eyes. “Luvely.“, she sniffled.

Joe stared at her once more, pondering for a second if she was hoaxing him or not. _Luvely the Flare_ , he mused to himself. _How accurate._

“Well, _Luvely_ , Imperator Atticus will lead you to my War Pups. You will stay with them and you will learn with them until you show me that you’re ready to be part of my boys.”

* * *

Slit lay on his bunk, enjoying the feeling of not having to share space with someone; like his Driver. He was dozing off; a dirty rug on his face which smelled of Guzzoline, when he heard a group of his comrades chatter. Something very exciting must have happened, it seemed. He did not care. The Lancer preferred sleep over gossip anyway.

“Oy!”

A kick to his boot awoke him.

“Oy, Slit!”

An annoyed growl escaped his scarred mouth.

“What the _fuck_ do you want?”

He heard his Driver snicker. Suddenly, the rug was snatched off his face. Slit hissed as his eyes adjusted to the dim light in the room.

“Remember your girlfriend?”, Nux asked with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Slit did remember her, but would have never admitted it. “Who?”

Nux sat down at the end of the bunk and played with the rug in his hand absentmindedly. “The dude we found earlier is not a dude. Turned out it’s actually a girl.”

That caught the older males’ attention. “Yeah, so? What about her?”, he asked and tried so sound as nonchalantly as possible. After all, Slit had been present when Organic had torn her clothes off.

“Well”, The Driver started and threw the dirty rug right back in his Lancer’s face. “Seems like she'll be one of us soon, mate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... I hope you like the first Chapter :) I really tried to involve Slit a bit and finally give Luvely her name. I'm really looking forward to reviews/comments and if I made any mistakes.. please bear with me! :3 I even forced my best friend to be my Beta so yeah.. If you still find any mistakes feel free to tell me :D Thanks! xoxo
> 
>  
> 
> Chapter updated: 05/13/2017


	3. Adapt

They walked through several tunnels, canals and even took some stone stairs to the low range of the west tower. Luvely knew, because another painted man has asked the Imperator about where they were heading and the painted man had a disbelieving look on his dark face, when the Imperator told him.

Most of the time it was kind of cold and damp and she nearly jumped, when she suddenly had to waddle through knee-deep water. These kinds of tunnels were light and Luvely had opened her dry mouth to catch some of the water drops, which were falling through bars from the ceiling. She saw a flash of green and smelled something familiar, but she was forced to move, before she got a good look. The Imperator commanded her and she dutifully obeyed him.

And suddenly she was shoved through an extent entrance into a cavernous room. It was snugly warm and gloomy, since more torches were attached to the walls than in the tunnels they had passed. Suddenly the noises stopped as the first kids spotted her and the high ranking officer. "Have fun.", the Imperator mumbled in her ear, gave her a second push towards the kids and left her. She couldn't call out to him again, since he had already disappeared behind a corner.

Luvely turned around and scratched the back of her head awkwardly. They stared at her. Simply stared at her, some curious, some with a tang of mistrust in their eyes. Oh, their eyes. She noticed how all were painted in white clay, but only a few had their eyes painted in black. She coughed slightly and tried to act nonchalantly, to blend in somehow and she hoped they'd stop staring soon. But most of them didn't, of course they didn't.

So she hurried to an empty corner and tried to ignore them, the stares and whispers. They were just kids. No worries, no threats. Just War Pups. _Oh.,_ she thought to herself – it made sense now. Eventually they stopped staring, even though she noticed some side glances here and there.

Now it was her turn to take in her surroundings and soon she found the bunks. Bunks which were carved into the orangey stone and almost reached the high ceiling of the cave. Luvely also noticed that some were covered with a blanket or some old discolored pillow, but most of them were bare – it didn't seem very appealing to her.

"Hey." She didn't react. "Hey you!" The kid probably meant some of his – friends? Or brothers, or comrades. Luvely hugged her knees to her chest and made sure as much of her skin was covered as it was possible. "You're pretty rude for a stranger." Now she looked up and saw the young boy standing in front of her. He was slim and seemed rather malnourished – just like her. The way he looked, considering his stature, she guessed he was about 13. He had his fists stemmed into his sides and eyed her curiously. "And mute? Are you mute? Or deaf?", he asked and cocked his eyebrow. Luvely couldn't help but smile. "No." She sat up straight and scrutinized the boy. "Who are you?", he boldly asked and took a seat beside her. "I'm, uhm, one of you now – I guess.", she answered and combed her tousled hair with her fingers. "Really? You don't look like a boy – at all." She chuckled and offered her hand to him. "I'm Luvely.", she introduced herself and watched as he looked at her hand – confused. "That's my name.", she added and observed how careful and unsure he placed his painted hand into hers. She slightly shook it and almost laughed at his weird reaction. As if he never had introduced himself like that. "M' names Shifty.", he exclaimed and suddenly waved at someone.

"Hey guys, it's a girl!", he called out to someone. "She's all right!" Soon after that, three more War Pups had gathered around her and she had to admit that she liked it. She wasn't alone anymore, even though the other kids continued to avoid and ignore her. "Are you some kind of slave?", Guz asked her. He was younger than Shifty and had a scar above his right eye which split his eyebrow. He was tall for his age, but scrawny like the rest nonetheless – and he was a little smartass Luvely had discovered fast. "No. I'm just, well – " She didn't know how to explain it. "She said she is one of us now, stupid.", Dash huffed and shoved the younger ones shoulder. He seemed stronger than his fellow Pups and had already developed some muscles on his upper body. "Immortan Joe had ordered me to learn from you, you know? Learn about your culture and" – "You talked to the Immortan?", Shifty asked and drew the attention to the little group of their new found friend.

They looked at her in awe as she tried to explain to them and she realized that the influence of the Immortan on these kids, these War Boys and Pups, was much greater and bigger than she had thought. "We will teach you how to become a War Boy.", Guz announced joyful and smiled, while his friends nodded in agreement. "Just like they teach us."

"We'll show you how to get stronger and well, uh, more fearful.", Shifty added and touched the bare and tanned skin on her arm. "We have to get you painted. That's the first step.", he explained and kept patting her skin, like he'd never touched unpainted skin before.

* * *

She learned a lot about the little group in her first hours as – one of them, because she didn't like to be referred as a _War Pup_. She learned that none of them remembered how they became a War Pup, but they were glad they were. She also learned about their love for everything mechanical and metal. The term "so chrome" was constantly mentioned and she knew that she'd probably end up using it too due to the constant mentioning. She learned that Guz sneaks out to help the Repair Boys as much as he could, that he loved the smell of guzzoline, but hated the taste of mother's milk – whatever that was. She couldn't believe that they meant the actual mothers milk for infants, so she waved it off.

Shifty and Dash told her about their dream to become driver and lancer. A team. They wanted to witness each other striving for Valhalla – again something she didn't quite understand, but she did actually understand that the boys were very passionate about their Valhalla – and again, Immortan Joe.

"And what about you?", Luvely asked the little boy who sat between Dash and Guz and hadn't said a word since they had approached her. He almost seemed shocked when she asked him and he was so young, looked so frail – just like her baby brother used to. "Me?" She almost melted as he looked up in her eyes. Those big green eyes. Luvely nodded and smiled – he was so shy! "I'm – I'm", he stuttered, but Dash interrupted him and threw his larger arm over his small shoulders. "Ah, Pipsqueak here can't wait to become a War Boy!", he laughed and the young wrinkled his nose. "That's not my name!", he whined and shook of the heavy arm from his shoulder.

Luvely watched as the boys started to scramble each other and yet again she was reminded of her brothers. She swallowed hard and tried to forget the memories of past days – so she just grabbed two different arms and hushed at them. They looked flabbergasted while Luvely sat them down without many words or threats – like they were used to from the War Boys – and focused on the little one. "What's your name then?", she asked him and raised his chin so he would look in her eyes. He was nervous, tried to look anywhere but her face and she could sense that his puppy fatted cheeks were flushed. "Uhm, uh – Pip. Just Pip.", he answered and remained still while her smile grew wider. "Okay then, Pip." She winked at him and she could hear the other boys snicker around them.

And as the other War Pups started to climb into their bunks and the torches were doused – the Pups curled around their new comrade and kept her company – while Luvely was glad they did.

Life as a War Pup wasn't easy. Not at all – at least not for Luvely and she was impressed at how little the Pups complained or whined. She did neither, but it was harsh nonetheless.

She got little food and little water, but it was still more the desert had offered her. The nights were cold, almost freezing and sometimes she envied the Pups which slept in pairs. She had nothing to cover her shaking body but the shawl the weird doctor had given her instead of her clothes. She was thankful when the boys offered her to bunk with them. It was nothing foreign to her, since she used to share a tent with her parents and her younger brother. She was used to body heat and closeness – Pip and her slept together after she saw how restless the other Pups were. He usually fell asleep in her arms.

A few days after her arrival the day came where all the Pups started to cheer and Luvely noticed how excited they were. "What's up with them?", she asked and nodded in the direction of the large group of Pups who got picked up by some War Boy, they all followed him and smiled. "It's wash day.", Guz answered as he scratched his shaved head. Dash jumped off his higher bunk and started to follow the others, just like Shifty and Guz. "Everyone gets to take a bath and then repaint.", Shifty explained and smiled. "At some point the clay starts to itch and chip off." Yes, she had noticed that.

She didn't follow them, not until her hand got grabbed by some tinier hand. "Come on." It was Pip. She hesitated, but he pulled her with all his strength. "You need to bath, too." Slowly she followed him. "Ouch.", she mumbled and pursed her lips, but he was right. Her hair was greasy, her skin crawled with sweat and grime and she probably looked horrible, even though no one in particular seemed to mind – but she did and that mattered.

The first thing she noticed was the splashing and laughing. The second thing was the steamy air and the water puddles which became more frequent the nearer they got – and suddenly Pip let go off her hand and rushed to his friends as soon as he saw them.

To her it almost looked like a spring, with several tubs carved into the floor which were filled with milky white water – probably caused by all the clay that they had already washed away. "Luv!" She spotted the group of boys in one of the tubs far away from the entrance. "Over here!", Shifty called out and waved his arm, but was dipped under water by Dash.

Luvely noticed that there were some guards who watched over the Pups, paid attention to the time they were playing in the water – and she also noticed the few War Boys who were washing themselves. Much calmer than their mini versions, but relaxed and relieved nonetheless. – So now she definitely felt uncomfortable, considering the light color of her dress – that she had managed to sew with the help of Guz and Dash, who had stolen a needle and some thread from the doctor - it would probably get transparent once it got wet. Besides, she had nothing to change into afterwards as well.

"Luvely!", they all called out for her in union and she smiled. They may have been War Pups, but they were just kids. Dorky little kiddos. "Yeah, I'm – on my way.", she mumbled to herself and started walking towards the back – anxious not to get splashed with water or accidentally slide into one of the tubs. – And as she walked past one of the emptier tubs, she locked eyes with someone she knew. Briefly, but still – she remembered those scars and judging the look on his still painted and smudged face, he remembered her as well – Well, maybe.

She didn't stop walking, but she slowed down and – blushed. She could feel it and it embarrassed her even more. "Hey missy!" Luvely snapped out of her trance and looked at the boy next to Scarface. "Wanna join us?" The War Boy winked at her and she couldn't help but smile at how ridiculous he looked with half of his face clean and the other half still painted. "Thank you, but no thank you.", she simply answered and winked at Scarface who looked pretty pissed off and as she kept walking past them she was also pretty sure she heard some punches being thrown.

When she arrived at the tub that the boys she had befriended over the past couple of days, they were wrestling in the water, splashing around and didn't really care about washing themselves correctly. Luvely cocked an eyebrow, sat down on the edge of the wide tub and let her legs slide into the lukewarm water. She sighted and closed her eyes for a second – enjoying the feeling of the little waves which swashed around her skin.

Suddenly it was quiet, no more splashing, no more laughing – she almost became leery and as she was finally pulled into the tub – she thought she should have been. Whit a loud splash and a shriek she plunged into the water and gasped for air when she finally emerged again. "Oh you sneaky rascals!" She tried to sound angry, but couldn't. Luvely laughed and splashed water at them – she may have been older, but she loved to goof around from time to time. She always did – in the past.

"Okay Pups, quit that shit and finish up!", one of the watching War Boys barked and shot a strange look at Luvely that she chose to ignore. The Pups groaned and actually started to wash themselves – even though they had problems with their backs. "Here, let me help you.", she offered and worked herself through hyped Pups. "- and yes, even behind your ears.", she ordered in a strict manner and wrung her own hair out.

Shifty and Dash were the first ones who went to go repaint themselves at the Painting Room – which was located near the spring – and had no problem with being naked it seemed. "You know, it's funnier when you tell us to do things. The oldies are always so mean.", Guz told and earned an agreeing nod from Pip. "Well, as long as you listen I won't be mean.", Luvely winked at them with a smile. "Promise." The boys returned her smile and climbed out of the tub, calling after her and asking if she's help them repaint – of course she agreed.

The improvised and now soaking wet dress clung to her body and showed off every curve of it – but she was glad it wasn't transparent as she had ultimately expected it to be. She tugged at it once in a while, but it didn't help – she sighed and paid no attention as she walked after the Pups – since she had no idea where the Painting Room was – so she eventually bumped into someone and almost tripped backwards, but a firm grip on her arm prevented it.

* * *

Slit was almost sure she was following him – almost; and to him it was just the right decision to slap Morsov across his ugly face after he had called out for her at the tubs.

He watched her struggling with her weird knee-length shawl as she approached the Painting Room – she didn't even pay attention to where she was going; he was sure he would have to move eventually, but then he couldn't help it, as his glance almost instinctively darted over her body – and he also couldn't help but capture all of her features. He noticed how his body tensed, how he stopped in his tracks, how his brain stopped working for a second – or two. However, it was long enough until she bumped into his body, almost slipped – but he grabbed her arm, pulled her back and nearly slammed her slender form into his chest.

She looked up and they locked eyes – again.

He noticed how light blue and shiny her eyes were, how dilated her pupils were and he swallowed hard, cursed himself for thinking something like that and he ignored her quiet "Sorry." – as both of her small hands were pleasantly pressed flat on his chest. "Watch out, Pup.", he growled, let go of her arm and shoved her aside – and again he didn't understand his own thoughts. _You're an idiot._ Yes, he definitely didn't understand them.

* * *

Luvely chewed on her lower lip as she continued to search for her boys and she bit the inner flesh of her cheek as she finally sat down next to Pip – because old habits die hard. She still felt his grip on her arm and the toned muscles under her hands – how his painted skin had felt and she thought about why she had to hold her breath when he looked at her. "Hey, can you help me?" Pip tugged on her dress. "Please, I can't reach my back.", he whined and tugged a bit harder.

Luvely nodded and tried to forget the little encounter with Scarface – because that was how she secretly called him, since she didn't know his name; and because she didn't want to know it anyway – but actually she did. So she started to spread the smooth mixture of white clay and water on his back and noticed how soft and light Pip's natural baby skin was.

When she was finished, she wanted to place the bowl back, but Pip stopped her. "Wait!" He dipped his little fingers into the half empty bowl. "You're all covered, Pip. A little trust here, yeah.", Luvely mocked him and watched as he tried to smear the clay on her face. "You need to be painted, too. You're one of us now.", he cheerfully exclaimed and gasped, when someone suddenly grabbed his wrist. "Hey Pup!" – Luvely felt the urge to snap at the older War Boy, but didn't. "No war paint for her, get it? She has to earn it first.", he explained to him – and to her. They both nodded and the man left again after he took the bowl. "That was Grue.", Pip told as he rubbed his wrist and he sniffled and tried to hide his tears. "He is one of the mean Boys."

"Hey." Luvely grabbed his other petite wrist, careful – and pulled Pip into her arms. He gave no resistance as she proceeded to hug him. She noticed that everyone had already left the big room, so there was not one who could make fun of him afterwards – because she knew that kids could be cruel. She smiled when he hesitantly hugged her back and placed his shaved head on her shoulder.

Now Luvely was the one who had to fight her tears from falling. She realized how little the War Pups knew about affection and love and care – in the short time she had spent with them she had already seen so many examples of how rough and tough they were raised – raised to be War Boys someday. If they would make it.

She asked herself if every one of them, War Pups and Boys, knew so little about these things – and maybe, just maybe, she could be the one who could change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to thank you guys for the positive feedback that I got so far! :D It's really flattering to read ♥ I hope you like this chapter and I also hope that more reviews and suggestions will follow :) I'm really curious about your thoughts of Luvely :3 Maybe you could drop a line or two about her (and/or the other characters and the storyline in gerenal) - xoxo


	4. Closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! First, I just wanted to thank those who have left a review/alert/favorite :D They really keep me going and interested in finishing what I started :3 I hope that you'll like this chapter and I also hope some of you will leave a comment/suggestion/opinion for me :D And now Enjoy! <3

Days had passed since the new arrival had made herself a name – not a very glorious one, but still a name. They talked, whispered and guessed, since not everyone had seen her yet. Rumors made their way around the citadel.

Furiosa herself had heard some and to her, most of them seemed rather ridiculous. Some said the girl was found naked, surrounded by the corpses of her companions, while others claimed she looked like a monster – with claws, fur and sharp teeth – too ugly and wild to become one of the Immortan's breeders, wives.

The female Imperator snorted and shook her head slyly. Pathetic. – No, she wanted to meet her face to face and figure out why she had asked to stay; to become one of Immortan Joe's properties.

She had sent the Ace to get her and she had to admit, that she got more curious the more she thought about that girl. – Furiosa had decided to meet her in her private chamber, so no one could hear what she would ask her and what the girl would tell. She sat in her favorite chair, an old and weathered reddish brown armchair. Her mechanical arm laid on her bed and she had chosen not to wear her black war paint. Not in her own room, not if no one could see – except for Ace, but she trusted him. He was her most loyal man.

A soft knock on her door caught her attention. She had expected Ace to bring her and not just sent her, but she remembered that she had asked him for a second favor. "Come in.", she allowed, but didn't move.

Furiosa could hear the door open and close again, the girl was eager not to make much noise and she could hear bare feet walking on the stone floor and then stop. "You wanted to see me." She had a nice voice, not that loud, but not shy either. "Come here.", Furiosa ordered and could hear again how she started walking until she stood right in front of her – slender but courageous. She didn't seem scared, but curious and Furiosa almost laughed as she thought about the silly rumors again. That girl was definitely no wild monster. "Take a seat if you want. You don't have to stand before me at attention as long as no one else is around." The girl nodded furiously and took a seat across from the sympathetic woman. "Your name is Luvely?" Furiosa had heard it as Rictus Erectus had said it before, but she couldn't really believe that he had told the truth – but then again the girl nodded.

"Huh. That's a nice name." Luvely smiled and proceeded to brush her long hair away from her shoulders. "Thank you." It was quiet while the Imperator watched her how she surveyed the room. – Furiosa noticed the rag she wore, dirty and not very functional for a life down the citadel. She had made the right decision, she realized – of course her stuff was taken from her and of course no one had bothered to dress her for what she was slowly becoming now.

"Do you regret coming here?" Furiosa studied her face as Luvely lifted her chin. "No, not at all. I would've died sooner or later out there alone.", she answered and it seemed to be the truth. The Imperator was almost baffled. "So you used to have company?" She nodded slowly, her look blank. "Yes, I – I had a family once. We were not all related, but we were a family nonetheless." Now Furiosa nodded slowly, understanding. "What happened?" Luvely closed her eyes for a second and swallowed.

It didn't need many words for the Imperator to get what had happened to the girl – something just went really wrong. Maybe they were at the wrong place at the wrong time and suddenly everything she loved was taken from her in a few moments. She knew that, for she had been there once. Maybe they didn't share the same story, but they both had lost something and had ended up at the same place. "Some of our people got sick. We – we were weak when we got attacked and our guns were not strong enough. We were outnumbered and we only had one functioning car." She blinked back tears and – smiled. "My mother had pushed me into the little hole under one of our car wrecks. It was something like a backup plan to hide our kids, but they died in their mothers arms before they could reach it." Furiosa leaned forward and laid her hand on her shaking ones. She noticed how Luvely had scratched at her skin on her arms, how she cracked her fingers.

"I wanted to help them. I wanted to help and protect everyone, but my mother didn't let me. She just pushed me and told me to wait – wait until they were gone." It seemed to Furiosa that Luvely's last words were actually her mothers. "Then there were explosions and –"

Another, louder, knock on the door interrupted their talk and captured the Imperators attention. The door opened and the Ace entered the room. "Chef", he started and walked over to the sitting women. "These were the only boots 'n pants I could find for her. Look like they coulda' fit." Furiosa nodded in approval, a gesture for him to hand them over.

A look of confusion crossed Luvely's face as she took the dark clothes from the older male. He nodded quickly and left before she could say her thanks. "You can change here if you want to. I think that'd be more comfortable for you.", Furiosa offered to her and got up from her chair. "Thank you, uh Imperator." She smiled, shook the cargo pants once and finally slipped them over lean legs.

The fabric was black and rough – however Luvely was glad to finally have something to cover herself with, although she didn't like the way it showed of most of her scars. She closed the zipper and noticed that the cargo pants didn't really fit her lean hips – nothing she couldn't manage, she decided and put on the heavy black boots – which were also a tick too large for her feet.

"You'll need to wrap that thing around your chest until I find something more – handy." Furiosa gestured to the long shawl which Luvely was still wearing and the younger girl nodded. "Yeah, thanks." She then started to wrap it around her chest tightly.

Furiosa eyed her again. "You may have to do something about your hair as well.", she simply stated and started to put on her prosthetic arm. "Don't want you get stuck somewhere, would we?" Luvely shook her head. "No. I kinda saw it coming. You know? The head-shaving thing.", Luvely answered and absentmindedly ran her fingers through her hair. – Furiosa secured the leather belts around her waist, went over to her old dresser and searched through the drawers. "No need to shave it." She threw an old hair tie at Luvely, which she failed to catch – and Furiosa had to hide her smirk. The girl really tried. "Just tie it up or braid it as long as you work. I don't care – and I'm not alone at this, since all the War Boys decided to shave their heads or lost their hair due to sickness. The War Pups just follow their role models lead." Luvely nodded understanding and tied her hair into a rather messy ponytail.

The Imperator sighed. At least Luvely would blend in – a bit. The clay was still missing and as Furiosa knew, the girl would have to prove herself soon. "I will order some of my men to teach you how to drive, how to shoot a weapon and fight." She watched Luvely as the younger woman adjusted her new outfit. "Have you any experience with cars and weapons?" She looked up. "Uh, yeah – a bit. As I said we used to have a car and I drove it a couple of times."

"What about guns? Ever used one?" Again, she nodded – "Yeah, had to. My brothers taught me how to use the ones we had." – and shrugged. "I'm willing to shoot someone if that means surviving and protecting the ones I care for."

Yes, Furiosa could relate to that. "Good. I can't use someone who refuses to fight. You need to prepare yourself, you know? Get stronger." Luvely agreed but furrowed her brows. "Prepare for what exactly?" She couldn't hide her confusion and curiousness in her question.

But the well respected and slightly mysterious woman didn't answer. No, she looked at something – something very distant in her thoughts. "It's never wrong to be prepared." And she walked over to the door.

* * *

When Luvely returned to the Pups, she noticed the spirit of optimism – they were playing, laughing. Hyped as always. She also noticed the couple of War Boys who were dividing them into little groups and disappeared into the tunnels guiding to the garages.

She got a hold on the arm of the first familiar face she saw. "Hey Shifty." The boy turned around and gave her a toothy grin. "Hey Luv, you look awesome!" She smiled, waved it off and pointed at the others instead. "What's goin' on here?"

"Oh, uhm, we – it's a field trip! We're going on a field trip with the older War Boys.", he explained and seemed anxious to get going. "Oh, a field trip?" Luvely let go of his arm and patted his shaved head. "Well then, be careful and have fun, yeah?" She was a little worried, she had to admit – and she watched with a mixture of concern and wariness as her only allied disappeared into the tunnel after saying their goodbye's to her – she had smiled when Pip had asked her to squat down and then gave her an unexpected hug.

"Hey greenhorn!" She turned around and looked at the older War Boy who Furiosa had referred to as  _The Ace_. "Yeah?" She walked towards him and crossed her arms. "Why can't I attend this field trip?", she asked him curiously but was ignored. "Chef' said you should learn from one of the Repair Boys about our cars."

* * *

Luvely followed Ace through the tunnels until they reached the space where the cars were repaired and souped-up apparently, since there was an actual car parked at the moment and she was impressed by the good condition it was in.

It was warm and gloomy – as in almost every cave in the citadel, she judged and then noticed the War Boy who had the back to them and was leaning over the motor compartment.

"Slit!"

The lancer bumped his head when he heard the loud voice of Ace. He rubbed it and turned to face him. "Yeah?" And he internally groaned by the time he saw who was standing beside the older man. "Where are Retch and Goose?" Slit shrugged and couldn't help but observe her new look. Not so messy and not so matt anymore, he had to admit.  _What the actual fuck is wrong with me._ He shook his head and tried to focus. "On the field trip.", he answered and asked himself why the hell she was present.

"Ok, so seems like you're the one then." Slit didn't understand and he was sure he didn't want to in the first place. The old man suddenly turned to her again. "You're staying with him – assist him and learn as much as you can." She nodded and then he left – leaving her with him. "So", she started and walked over to him, surveyed the car. His car – well, soon to be he hoped.

"Your name is Slit?", she asked and looked at him, curiously. "Yeah." And he turned back to the engine he was working on before they had showed up. Slit still tried to figure out what the problem was. "I remember you.", He heard her say, but tried to stay focused. "You're the one that picked me up in the desert." Yes, he remembered it as well – and how he had carried her to the Organic Mechanic. He remembered everything. "Your scars – they, they took me by surprise."

He snorted. "You passed out."

Slit could heard her laugh – almost nervously. "Yeah." And he enjoyed the sudden silence while he worked.

"I'm Luvely, by the way." He paused and took a quick look across his shoulder. She was sitting on the ground, legs stretched in the sand and eyes on the old sealing ring she was fumbling with in her hands. Slit arched an eyebrow at the sight and returned to his work. "That's my name."

"I figured.", he simply answered and wiped some sweat of his forehead. "If you need any help just, uh, tell me or so." He turned around again and wiped his oily hands on the rag that was tugged into his waistband. She looked up at him – eager. "Your help?" He arched his eyebrow at her – again. She smiled. "Yeah – I'm s'posed to assist you or not?"

He clicked his tongue. "You're familiar with cars, yeah?" She almost jumped up and waved at him. "Pff, are you kidding me?" She gestured at the old Dodge Challenger in front of her and then proceeded to lean on the hood.

Slit got curious and hooked his thumbs into his waistband as he watched her examining the front of the car and how it looked like, she had absolutely no idea of what she was doing. "Where's the engine?"

And he almost smiled while she clueless crossed her arms over her chest and he noticed that she had used the shawl to cover it with. "You have no idea, don't you?." She made that cocky sound again and took a long look under the hood.

Suddenly she pointed at the car battery. "That's –" And then she saw the look on his face and dropped her hand. "obviously  _not_  the engine."

At that point Slit decided that he would let her assist him and teach her what he knew as long as she wouldn't get on his nerves too much – since he had no choice anyway. "Here, lemme' show you." And she looked at him with a mixture of relief and appreciation – he didn't like it. How her blue eyes sparkled and how her lips pulled up in a smile.

* * *

On the next day Luvely went to assist Slit as she was told to and she wondered how random it was that she ended up with him – again. She was kind of glad though and she didn't know why. There was something about that guy – something she wanted to figure out. Whether it was his demeanor or – "You're late, Smalls." She hadn't realized she had already arrived at the repair space. "Sorry, I got lost – twice."

The War Boy snorted, grabbed two of the weathered protective masks and threw one at her – she barely caught it and examined it. "Did you just call me  _Smalls_?" She furrowed her brow and watched as he put on matching protective gloves. "Yeah."

She stepped closer. "Why? You know my name." He shrugged. "Cause you're small." She chuckled. "So? You're pretty grumpy and I don't see myself starting to call you  _Grumpy_."

"That's because m'names Slit and I'm not grumpy – 'sides, your name is  _Luvely."_ Now she started to get confused. "And again – so?"

He sighted and decided if every girl was that stressful – he was glad that she was the only one around. "Can we just – get to work here?" She shrugged – "Fine." – and put on the mask as she was told to. "Okay, just take a step back, watch me and later you'll do it just like I did.", he introduced her and waited until she gave him a quick nod. "All right. Now watch out,  _Smalls_." He was glad the mask had hidden his pleased smile as she huffed.

Luvely was surprised at how well and patient Slit had worked with her over the last three days. He taught her what he knew, even though she couldn't remember everything he had told her, but at least she tried to. Further he had explained to her how things worked around the citadel and the other War Boys – what it meant to be one and that he was a lancer. That had caught her attention and then she finally knew why he'd stood in the back of the car the other day.

She realized that she was looking forward to spent time with him and she had already asked herself when the Pups would return from their field trip and furthermore, if she would continue to work with Slit – and as she entered the repair space she stopped in her tracks.

"Hey – you must be Luvely?" At first she was confused, but she managed her thoughts and focused again. "Yeah, hi." She approached the War Boy who was smiling at her. "Oh, I'm Cooper.", he introduced himself and placed the tool, which Luvely didn't know, on the near workbench. "I'm replacing Slit today."

Cooper was nice, young and very talkative – the exact opposite of Slit. Not that she would mind, but actually she realized that she did. She was disappointed and she had to admit to herself that she was actually looking forward to spending time with the lancer.

On her way back to her bunk she heard the noises. Chattering, excited voices and she felt joy rising up – overshadowing the thoughts about the absent War Boy.

Some of the War Pups looked different, she noticed. There were more who had blackened up their eyes and most of them were covered in cuts and bruises and as Luvely couldn't find her boys, she just went straight to her bunk, thinking that they would come to her if they wanted to.

To her surprise she didn't discover the bunk to be empty. "Hey Pip. How are you? How was the trip?", she asked while she climbed into the bunk and sat beside him – she felt that something was wrong with him. "Hey buddy. What's wrong?", she tried again and examined the long scratch on his forehead. He didn't flinch, just sighted and closed his tired eyes. She observed that he was still all white, no black circles around his eyes. "I'm not strong enough.", he started and looked at her. "They said I need to be grittier." He turned around again and hugged the little old pillow to his chest.

Luvely clicked her tongue and laid down beside him. "I think you're very brave.", she started and managed to get his attention. "You do?"

She smiled and nodded. "Absolutely. Look, you're the one who talked to the weird newbie – most of the boys are scared to talk to me. At least I think they're scared or, uh, weirded out. I dunno." She heard him chuckle. "But you approached me, talked to me and gave me a place to sleep. That's pretty chrome of you, don't you think?" He turned around again, smiled at Luvely and nodded.

"See? And now go to sleep and stop thinking about what the others think of you, okay?" He nodded again and turned around. "I'm glad that you're here now.", she heard him mumble and it didn't needed long until he fell asleep. "Yeah, me too." – and she placed a kiss on his forehead before she laid on her back and stared at the bottom of the bunk above them.

She couldn't sleep, at all – and she didn't want to wake Pip up – too many thoughts and scenarios flooded her mind. Scenarios of conversations and situations which probably wouldn't happen – ever. So she swung her legs over the edge of the bunk and climbed down.

It was dark and unusual quiet – since all the Pups were sleeping at once due to the events of their field trip and the resulting exhaustion.

The only light came from the torches which lit the tunnel, so she tried to move as silently as she could until she had reached it – after that, Luvely didn't know how long she wandered around the tunnels and halls. Some empty and dark, some still lit and occupied by working War Boys.

She tried to stay unnoticed, but eventually ended up where the older boys lived and slept. There were bunks carved into the stone, just like where the Pups stayed – but these bunks were, of course, bigger and every single one had some kind of curtain attached to it, which could probably be used to grant some privacy.

Most of the boys were still awake, chatted and joked with each other – just a few curtains were actually closed and most of the light was already dimmed.

Luvely didn't stay unnoticed very long since some of the boys who stayed in the bunks near the entrance started to call out for her, asked questions and she was sure at least one of them had asked her if she wanted to hop into the bunk with him – and she had to admit that she was just a little freaked out by them.

* * *

"Hey, Smalls!"

Slit immediately called out to her after he had spotted her standing at the entrance – rather overwhelmed and helpless, so he jumped out of his bunk. He heard Nux call out to him, but he waved him off. He saw a flash of relief and appreciation on her face when she had also spotted him – just like the first day he had worked with her, but now he – kind of liked it.

As soon as he stood before her, Slit proceeded to grab her arm – in his own conception of  _soft_ and pulled her back into the direction she came from. But he kept moving, probably a bit longer than necessary and noticed the missing resistance from her side.

She bumped into his back as soon as he suddenly came to a halt and turned to face her – only to come to realize that she was close. Very close. So close that their chests were almost touching – and he also noticed how much smaller she was, for he could have easily rested his chin on top of her head – or spat on it, since he actually didn't want to rest his chin on her shiny hair.  _Wait, what?_

"The hell are you doing here?", Slit finally asked and sounded harsher then he wanted to. "Hey.", she simply said and looked him straight in the eyes. He didn't like the look on her face – like he was something special or important. "You were gone.", she stated and then again – he didn't like the sudden sad look on her face. It actually made him feel guilty.

"Yeah.", he answered and focused his gaze on the dark tunnel behind her. "Why?" He shrugged. "Had work to do." No, he didn't. He had volunteered to go on a supply run to Gas Town and the Bullet Farm. "Yeah." She sounded bleak. "It was weird.", she then started and kicked at some grit at her feet. "Not having you around, y'know." – Slit could feel something, in the depths of his stomach. A warm feeling which was soon replaced by a sting to his chest and then she slyly smiled at him – which made it even worse.

"I had a few driving lessons, while you were gone." She chuckled, which made him smile in return. "With whom?" And yes, he was curious about the man she had spent her time with – for no particular reason of course. "Ace."

Slit had to grin as past memories of his first driving attempts with the Ace flooded his mind. "And? Is the old man still breathing?", he mocked her and let out a raspy lough as she playfully punched him in the arm. "Yes, he's perfectly fine!"

He snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Says you." She clicked her tongue and pursed her lips – and Slit had to admit that he liked the image of her driving high speed, maybe check the engine during a break, covered in some sweat and oil, him standing behind her – checking her work, pressed against her behind. "Are you all right?"

He snapped back – out of his weird thoughts. "What? Uhm, yeah yeah. 'M fine." He waved her off and coughed slightly –but she arched an eyebrow at him and looked like she wanted to say something – but she didn't.

It felt awkward. The tension he felt between them – he didn't like it. He didn't like that he was actually curious about it. "Are – are  _you_ all right?" She let out a breathy laugh, which confused him and then she actually patted his biceps, almost stroked it. "Me? Yeah, yeah. – Wow, you're pretty, uh, buff."

Almost instinctively he flexed his muscles and he had to be honest – he felt like an idiot and that was not the first time while having her around. "Thanks, I guess." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and coughed again, while he could see how she bit her cheek. "So", she started and combed her hair with her slender fingers. "could you walk me back to my bunk? I'm pretty lost – again."

They walked in silence, but that time it didn't felt weird or uncomfortable. Slit had to admit that he was glad she had, accidentally, visited him and he also had to admit that his little scheme hadn't really worked out, since he had volunteered for the supply run to get away from her with the hope of not wanting to see her again – and the adrenaline rush he had wanted so badly.

Slit knew that something had changed between them over the last couple of days and he didn't know what exactly. He wasn't the type of guy who made friends – that was Nux' kind of thing. But Luvely, she was somehow – different, in a good way – at least he thought so. The thing that weirded him out and confused him was the fact that it  _felt_ different. He  _behaved_  different – around her. It was not like the friendship he had with his driver or other War Boys. It was just – different.

They reached the cave where the War Pups were sleeping peacefully, before he had the chance to sort out his thoughts and it got even stranger, as she stood before him rather than just going straight to her bunk. He had the feeling – no, the urge to do something. To say something, but he didn't exactly know what. "Well, thanks for bringing me. I hope I'll just remember the ways soon." She whispered and smiled. "No big deal.", he mumbled and shoved his hand down his pockets. She nodded once. "Okay, uh –" She cracked her knuckles. "I hope, uh – See you soon?"

There it was again. Slit felt it – the warm foreign feeling in his stomach. "Yeah, probably.", he answered and froze as she suddenly inched closer and pressed her lips to the side of his cheek. He could feel her on the corner of his scarred mouth, just a quick peck – but still. She smiled, almost satisfied with herself and cooed a "Good Night, Slit.", before she disappeared into the darkness of the cave where here bunk was.

And Slit decided that he was actually glad about her poor sense of direction.


	5. Lucky

A tingling rush spread through Luvely's body as she geared up and almost floor the accelerator. Her arms were tensed, she gripped the steering wheel with both hands and enjoyed the whipping wind which dried up the little drops of sweat on her forehead and temples.

"Ok, now remember what I've told you – watch out for dunes and bumps. At this speed even the smallest rise can become a ramp.", Nux explained to her again and proceeded to look and sound rather calm while he sat in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, got it." She waved him off, but was exhorted by her new driving instructor. "Keep your hands on the wheel,  _Smalls_. If I'm gonna die, I'm not gonna die like this." And she quickly placed her hand back, but she could hear him chuckle and relaxed again. "Sorry."

Now he waved her off. "Nah, no need to apologize." She was glad that Nux had agreed to continue giving her some driving lessons after Luvely had managed to coax Slit into asking his driver and after Ace had told her he had little to no time to teach her anymore and then left her to find someone else.

Nux was outgoing, entertaining, a bit childish and impulsive from time to time but still a good teacher – and from what she could witness, Nux and Slit were a pretty good team as driver and lancer. She knew, because Slit was currently standing on his lancer perch, giving directions to Nux, who eventually passed them to Luvely.

Said lancer proceeded to knock on the heavy sunroof, which was a signal for Nux to open it again. "Yeah?" Luvely could see the reflection of his legs through the rear-view mirror, since she had a clear sight of the rear window – and how it looked like, Slit was leaning over the open sunroof. "Let her take a turn or we will enter the Rock Raiders territory soon, Nuts.", he yelled over the roaring engine and leaned back again.

"The Rock Raiders?" Nux closed the sun roof again with a slam and nodded. "Yep." He nodded. Luvely slowed down, but forgot to gear down as well. "I'd use the clutch and gear down if I was you.", he mentioned casually. "Or you're gonna stall the engine."

She did as she was told, proceeded to take a sudden sharp turn and subsequently heard how Slit's body collided with the rear window. "Oh god!" She gasped. "Sorry – I'm so – god! Are you all right?" She almost leaned out of the window on her side and saw how he quickly gave her a thumbs up. "Hey, hey!" She could feel how Nux had gripped the wheel with one hand and pulled her in with his other. "Focus on the road, will ya!" He laughed manically and sat back as she returned to her sitting position. "Don't worry about that jerk – he's used to it."

That didn't really calm her, but at least she could focus on the road again – back to the citadel. For a moment they drove in silence, but the question she had, almost burned on her tongue. "So, what's the job of a lancer?" She took a quick look at him and noticed his arched eyebrow and the smug look on his face. "I think what you actually want to ask is: what exactly is  _Slit_  doing in the back of my car?" He grinned. "Right?"

Luvely could feel the sudden blush on her face and bit the inner of her cheek. "Yeah, whatever – so?" She tried to sound casual, but she heard him chuckle which made her feel even more uncomfortable. "Well, he lances?" Luvely rolled her eyes and sighted dramatically in frustration. "Wow, no shit?!"

She sped up again, shifted the gears a little smoother that time and enjoyed the high pace they were going again. "Slit's like my director, my extended eyesight, y'know? – And he also, of course, fights in combats using the thundersticks. At least most of the time. There's a high risk of dying, but it gets even more dangerous if the team of driver and lancer can't complement each other."

Luvely listened carefully and got more and more aware of the fact that Nux and Slit were a damn good team then. "They need to communicate, sometimes without usin' any words. If you can't work together, you should leave it – period."

"And you – you can work together, yeah?" She asked and smiled, because it was obvious that they could. "Sure – since I consider myself a damn good driver and Slit, yeah well he's pretty – mediocre." Nux winked at her but pointed at the road ahead when she looked at him a second too long. "Sorry."

"I heard that you lil' shit!"

* * *

Luvely took Furiosa's advice and words by heart and had actually found someone who was willing to spar with her in an abandoned repair bay.

"I told you to use your speed! And now look what happened again." Slit sat on top of her, had pinned her arms on either side of her head and looked down at her with a triumphant grin which stretched his scar. She was fascinated by the way the light shone of the metal staples in his cheeks for a second, before she started to squirm under his grip and wiggled her hips a bit.

Slit was suddenly fully aware of the way his body was pressed to hers, how she grinded her lower stomach against his –

"I get it! – Now get off me." He noticed how strong he actually was in comparison to her and he also realized that he liked the way they were positioned at the moment. "Get off, pleeease – Slit, you're heavy!", she whined but proceeded to smile.

His sardonic grin grew bigger – and yes he liked the way she begged him, how her fingernails started to scratch the skin on his hands where they could reach it and her intense breathing while she struggled against him.

"Ask me again.", he suddenly demanded in a low voice and when she heard how serious he sounded, she stopped struggling and looked straight into his blue eyes – estimating.

"Get off me." He chuckled and shook his head. "No, no. – Beg me."

She let out a breathy laugh. "Screw you, Slit." And she struggled again, but he pressed his knees into her sides and bend down to her a bit more – so she eventually stopped moving again and let out a raspy breath, which he could feel on his face. "You're serious, huh?"

He nodded slowly, she snorted but decided to play along, so she did what he hadn't expected and leaned forward. She brushed his right cheek with her lips, kept going until she had reached his neck, planted a light kiss on his painted skin and could feel how his pulse throbbed.

Luvely actually enjoyed how he reacted to her tender touch and she also noticed that he was holding his breath. " _Please_ , Slit." She placed a second quick kiss on the corner of his mouth. " _Please_  get off me.", she cooed into his ear – even if she was actually not sure if she really wanted him to get off anymore.

He swallowed hard and she could feel his hot breath on her bare shoulder. "Yeah, I – I think we should – call it a day." He coughed slightly, got off of her and went straight into the tunnel from where they previously came from.

Luvely rested upon her elbows and stayed there, staring after him with a mixture of amusement and disappointment and thinking about what had just happened between them. "Huh." She let out a loud sight and stood up from the ground, while cleaning her black pants from the dust.

She was surprised when Slit approached her the next day again and picked her up for practice. – They walked in silence and it was awkward; to say the least, because Luvely could feel the strange tension between them. Something she had never felt before. Not even when she was around the first man in her life, who had caught her interest.

The tension stuck and she noticed that Slit tried to avoid the body contact to her as much as he could – he gave her tips and showed her tricks, but it was – different.

"I'm sorry for the kiss.", she started during a break and smiled nervously at the ground, while he drank some of their precious water out of a black painted plastic bottle. "Or as I should probably say – kiss _es._ " And a she looked up again, she saw that he was offering her the bottle, which she thankfully accepted. "Nevermind.", he mumbled but she sure did and she wanted to ease the awkward tension and mood between them.

"Oh, but I do and I see how you act around me now – and I don't like it." She placed the bottle down and crossed her arms over her chest without drinking a drop. He had his back turned to her and she couldn't help but notice how muscular and broad his back was, how it was heavily scarred just like the rest of his body and how his pants emphasized his firm butt. Yes, it was a nice view she had to admit and she asked herself if he ever thought of her like that and she told herself that even if he would – she wouldn't mind it at all.

"I said nevermind." He turned around and cracked his knuckles.

* * *

After Slit had left the past day, he was confused and – he had to admit – indescribable turned on by her actions – so he handled it how he always did when that particular  _thing_  happened and he had eased the tension once he was in his bunk. – It was a foreign feeling to him, since he was used to getting turned on by his dreams and fantasies – he never imagined a real women would ever arouse him like that, since there were not many women around the citadel and even if, Luvely was the first one he was getting close with.

And then she had kissed him, thrice now – just like that and he couldn't deny anymore that he didn't like it, because he clearly did. But the worst thing was not knowing what to do, how to handle her. She slowly started to drive him mad – with her steel-blue eyes, her tempting body and her charisma.

"Okay, sorry." Slit huffed. "And stop apologizing." And he saw how she opened her mouth to say something – probably to apologize – but she closed it again and smiled. "So, we're good?" She walked towards him and he felt his heart beating a tick stronger, faster. "Yeah, we're good."

They practiced the next days without any incidents, except for some bruises and aching muscles – at least on Luvely's side.

"Actually I dunno. I'm jus' – I grew up with fighting." She snorted and took a sip from their shared water. "Don't laugh at me.", he warned her playfully and wriggled his index finger in front of her face. "Don't forget, I'm tryin' to help ya."

She placed the bottle on the ground again and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "And I appreciate that, Slit. I really do." She moved towards him. "Yeah, anyway", he waved her of and tried not to focus on the little water drop which slowly made its way down her cleavage. "Remember: Try to find out their weakness, their most vulnerable spot, like uh –" He awkwardly pointed at his crotch and she had to suppress a laugh. "Y'know?" She put two thumps up, grinned and winked at him. "All right, all right – I think I got it."

* * *

A few days later, Luvely noticed that something was about to happen. The War Boys she met were somehow – anxious, restless; and she also noticed that some of the older War Pups seemed nervous as well.

Beside the strange mood, the day went uneventful for Luvely. She had played with the Pups most time of the day and explored the lower range of the citadel. Slowly she managed to not get lost every few minutes and she was actually rather tired when she finally had the chance to lay down – if not for long.

She was grabbed and jerked out of her light slumber, out of her empty bunk and she had nearly screamed as she saw the skull like paint on their faces. "You're up next, Pup.", one of them told her with a deep voice – but that didn't really calm her. "Up next?" She had stopped to struggle and just let herself get guided through the tunnels. "Up next for what?", he asked them again, but of course they didn't answer her.

And then she heard the chaotic noise of cheering and chattering voices.

To her it seemed like a kind of arena, with a wide field in the middle – heavily surrounded by probably every War Boy and Pup in the whole citadel. They had placed the smaller Pups on the random placed and variably sized rocks, so they could see what happened on the field and she even noticed the balcony which loomed high over the field.

She almost gasped when she saw who was standing there, surveying the scene and then she finally understood what they were chanting.  _Immortan, Immortan Joe_.

Luvely was shoved through the crowd roughly and she felt rather exposed when the two guards had left her sides. – She stood before him, him and his allies. His retarded, but huge son and several of his officers – and she recognized the one who had brought her to the Pups on her first day and she remembered the woman – Furiosa.

And Luvely noticed how fierce she looked, with her forehead covered with a black and shimmering paint and she also noticed the slight nod she gave her.

Luvely flinched when Immortan Joe's loud voice suddenly boomed over the noise – but his words came off dull to her, since she suddenly was too nervous and too hyped to focus on anything but the avid V8 sign everyone was pulling off enthusiastically.

* * *

Slit had to admit that he was thrilled seeing Immortan Joe standing on the balcony, since he usually never attended any examinations.

He was standing next to Nux, in front of the rock where the Pups sat that Luvely hung around with and they had a perfect view on the field where the fight would go down.

"For the last time tonight, I ask my fearless War Boys to volunteer!" Of course, everyone did – every single War Boy jumped up, waved their arms, begged the Immortan to pick them – Slit knew that whoever was picked, they would tear the poor girl apart.

He looked at Luvely, who was standing in the middle of the dusty field, looking up at the balcony – and suddenly Slit jumped onto the higher rock behind him, shoving the protesting Pups aside and tried to get the Immortan's attention – he even heard Nux yell after him, but he didn't care, he just wanted to get picked.

"You!" Slit was sure that his heart had skipped a beat when he saw Immortan pointing a finger directly at him – or so he thought. "Yes, you!" No, it couldn't be – but it was. So without hesitating any more, Slit jumped off the rock and pushed his way through the crowd of his comrades, felt how they patted his back, his shoulders and he even heard most of them course him – but he didn't give a single fuck. He just stomped to the clear field and saw that Immortan really had meant him.

A wide grin spread over his face, he could feel his scars stretch and he didn't really care who was picked as second and thirdvolunteer.

* * *

Luvely was beyond shocked when she saw Slit approaching her. Out of all the War Boys, he was actually one who would fight and probably slay her now. She swallowed hard, her mouth all dry and she could feel her heart hammering in her chest – her instinct telling her to run and her adrenaline preparing her just to do so.

She knew the other guy that was picked from the other day – he was the one who had asked her to join his tub at the spring and as she learned, his name was something like Morsov – actually she didn't know if she was right since the cheering sounded chaotic.

The last guy's name was Buck and he scared her the most. He was as tall as Nux, at least and he looked huge, muscular; like he could crush her in a blink of an eye.  _Remember to focus on their weakness._ And Luvely tried to remember everything from her practice with Slit – nothing. Nothing came to her mind. Just blank space filled her head, mixed with scenarios in which she was beaten up and thrown out of her new – home.

There was no bell, no sound, no sign that signaled that the fight had started. – Luvely just felt like some helpless animal, trapped in a cage and circled by three bloodthirsty predators.

She closed her eyes for a second, tried to focus, to get her head in the game and blend out all the doubts and more importantly – the audience.

And she opened her eyes just in the right moment as Morsov rushed to her like a maniac. She could feel the little blast of air on her cheek as his fist missed her face by an inch, since she had managed to dodge the first punch just in time.

She cursed under her breath and started a counterattack by kicking him in the lower stomach.  _Use your speed and strike for his weakest spot._ So she did how Slit had told her and watched with a satisfied look how Morsov stumbled backwards and eventually fell to the ground.

In a flash all the air was knocked out of her lungs. It felt like she was rammed by a car, but it was actually Buck who had tackled her from behind and slammed her to the dusty ground. – He left her no time to gasp for air, but he grasped her head and head-butted her once, twice – and she felt how her sight got blurry.

 _Fight with everything you got and remember – yes, biting and scratching are legit actions in your case._ She knew that she would lose her consciousness any moment if she wouldn't be able to stop him anyhow – so she buckled her hips with all the strength she got and she found her initiative again when she noticed how he lost his stride and tried to grasp for her head again.

This time she stopped him by clawing her fingers into his cheeks until she could feel how she scraped his skin. There was no other way, no other chance for her to get out of his grip, so she jolted up and sank her teeth into the thick flesh of his right cheek.

His bone shattering scream didn't stop her from keeping to rip at his raw flesh until she could feel how it slowly indulged, how his warm blood slowly filled her mouth and mixed with her own. She then proceeded to wrestle him off, even if he was too occupied to press his hand to the spot on his cheek where a piece of his face was now missing.

Luvely spat the chunk of human flesh on the ground and furiously tried to forget what she just did, while wiping her mouth and spitting on the ground again. – And again she had not much time to react, the crowd around her went crazy after her little attack and she let her guard down for a second to catch her breath – which gave Morsov just enough time to crawl over to her and take the place of Buck.

She tried to get up, to shove him off her – but he grabbed her hand and threw a punch at her face. She was sure she heard her nose crack, which was supported by sharp pain. – Her head flew back, but before it connected with the hard ground, Morsov suddenly grabbed her hair and threw another punch at her face.

Luvely tried to grab his arms, to push him of, to do – something, but he was stronger. He obviously had more experience than her and she accepted that she had no chance – she was willing to beg him to stop. She was willing to lose if that meant he would let go of her –

And suddenly he was gone. No more weight was pressing her body to the ground, no more punches were thrown at her face. She could breathe and she could hear how the mood of the crowd had changed.

Luvely panted, tried to catch her breath, tried stop the dizziness from taking over – and then she saw him. He stood next to her, examined her and she could swear he looked at her with an apologizing expression. She would've said something, asked him – something, but she almost choked when she tried to.

And then she could feel how his heavy boot connected with her ribs and she screamed in agony when he kicked her again. She tried to curl up to protect herself and she could feel hot tears streaming down to the sides of her face – not only because of the pain, but because it was actually  _Slit_  who did it.

She tried to suppress the whimpers and cries, but she decided that no one would hear or even listen to her – so she let it go.  _Get up! Fight them you idiot!_ She gritted her teeth and tried to prepare herself to move when he would try to kick her again, but nothing happened.

She coughed and gasped for air as she tried to get up and she had to blink a few times before she could see that Slit and Morsov were actually fighting each other on the ground.

 _That's your chance! Get the fuck up!_ So she tried, even if it felt like she would collapse again as soon she stood up – but she didn't. Her legs were just shaky and her head was throbbing with waves of pain, the cuts on her forehead and cheekbone were burning and it was difficult to breathe due to the sharp pain caused by her ribs.

Everything seemed in slow-motion as she stomped towards the scrambling men. Slit was on top of Morsov and hit his face like a maniac – Luvely saw her chance, grabbed his shoulder, turned his face and punched him as hard as she could, while she could feel how the skin on her knuckles burst open. He was obviously taken by surprise, since Luvely had the chance to slam his face onto her knee – twice and finally shoved him off Morsov.

She could barely see his face anymore – blood was pouring out of his nose, his mouth and several cuts. But she didn't care – about him or her pain. She just wanted it to be over, to finish what she had started, so she blocked out the pain in her head and head-butted him.

He had his eyes squeezed shut and she kept going by beating his face – since she figured out that head-butts were no good idea in her situation – and she kept punching him until she felt the adrenaline in her body drown and exhaustion take over instead.

Again she was grabbed and again she nearly screamed. She had no energy left, she couldn't fight anymore and she was sure she would die after the slightest punch.

But there were no more punches, kicks or tackles. She was dragged off of Morsov by two guards and she could barely stand when they let go of her arms – but she did. She stood in front of the crowd, in front of Immortan Joe and his followers.

* * *

Immortan Joe was impressed – he had to admit it. She was strong, clearly not as strong as his men, but she was flare, fierce and reckless. She would have to learn a lot more, but for now – he was pleased and again he thought that her infertility was, indeed, a shame.

* * *

"You have proven yourself worthy,  _War Boy_. Congratulations." Immortan's judgment sent a wave of cheers and whooping through the improvised arena and even over the ringing sound in Luvely's ears and the almost unbearable pain, she could hear how they started to chant her name – well, nickname _._

_Smalls! Smalls! Smalls!_

Her body felt crushed, everything hurt. Breathing became difficult and the blood that had managed to drip into her eye was burning like hell. She couldn't see correctly, she tasted the metallic taste of blood in her mouth and the noise around her suddenly started to just mingle into a loud whirring.

She smiled and she knew that she probably looked horrible doing so, with a blood dripping mouth and red smeared teeth – but she didn't see how Immortan Joe gave the Organic Mechanic a nod and she also didn't see how the two guards approached her again, grabbed her arms and pushed her down until she was on all fours.

She had no energy left to fight and she started to panic. It made no sense to her – she did well! She had fought, had knocked them out. Now she didn't know what was happening and she didn't scream, for she knew that no one would help her – but she looked up nonetheless and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Slit sitting a few feet away from her. A wide grin on his bloody face and she suddenly felt even more betrayed.

Organic just did what he was told to do every time someone had proven themselves worthy and he immediately followed Immortan's order by heating up the branding iron, preparing it until it glowed in a dangerous orange color, flames still licking on its sides.

"Beautiful, sunshine.", he mumbled to himself, approached her trembling body and swiped lose strands of tousled her off of her neck. "Now, this might hurt a lil' bit,  _sunshine_." He chuckled darkly, motioned for the guards to hold on tight and then he finally had the pleasure of pressing the seeping hot iron directly onto her delicate flesh between her shoulder blades.

Luvely had never felt such intense pain before. She choked on her own scream, coughed and could feel how her limbs gave away beneath her. Her whole body just jerked and trembled. Too much, it was too much and she could feel everything go numb. Her heart beat so fast, she thought it would burst through her chest any moment and her neck burned. It burnt so bad, the pain washed over her body and she gasped once more, her eyes fell shut and everything went black, while she still could hear them chant in the distance.

_Smalls! Smalls! Smalls! Smalls!_

* * *

Slit watched her resting from beside him. He had made sure that Organic had taken care of her wounds as soon as he had the chance to get her and bring her to the crazy man. The other War Boys had cheered for her, wanted to see her up close and even if Slit had  _lost,_ they had cheered for him as of them were still hyped and that was actually just a normal state to be in for a  _kamicrazy_  War Boy.

He felt sorry for her and every time she whimpered, sobbed or jerked in her sleep, he felt a sting of guilt in his chest. But it had been necessary, any other boy would've slayed her, crushed her. He had been harmless, almost careful not to brake any of her ribs and bones – just to raise no suspicion, since he was not allowed to hold back and – help.

He propped himself on his elbows when he noticed that she slowly woke up. He heard her mumble gibberish and he noticed how her body trembled.

And then she jolted up straight, gasped and gripped her throat. – Slit knew that she was in a heavy delirium, he had been there as well. "It's okay.", he touched her arm, but she jerked away from his touch and stared at him with bleary eyes. "You're in my bunk."

She started to breathe normally again and relaxed. "Your Pup, uh, Pip? Yeah – he and his friends they told me to tell you that you're  _so_  chrome and badass." He chuckled and watched as she looked at him in confusion.

* * *

Luvely felt like shit. Everything hurt. Really, everything. It was much worse than she had expected and she didn't really know what she should have expected in the first place. They had taken her by surprise to this arena and – she squeezed her eyes shut. The throbbing pain in her head was too much, she couldn't think about her experience, her  _examination_. It was over. She was one of them now.

She swallowed. "Here." And as she opened her eyes she remembered that she was actually in  _his_  bunk. She gladly took the half empty water bottle from him and took a few sips. "You're an asshole.", she finally croaked and tried to lay on her back, but got up again since her neck still burned like hell.

He chuckled. "I know. But hey – at least you're not dead yet." She hissed in pain and waved him off. "Admit it, you'd be glad if I was.", she joked and examined fresh stitched in her fist. She ignored what he proceeded to mumble to himself. "God, I bet I look awful." She tried to touch her face but flinched as soon as she touched the bruised skin.  _Really everything hurts._ "I've seen worse." Slit shrugged and grinned when she tried to hit him, but stopped due to the stinging pain in her fist. "Ouch."

Luvely gritted her teeth. "I can't sleep like that – but I'm tired as fuck." Slit raised an eyebrow at her, since he was not used to her using that kind of language and started to search through his many pockets. "What are you looking for?", she curiously asked him and leaned forward.

"Wait 'til you see it." And thus he could feel the small pill. "Here. Take it." He hold the small silver pill in front of her face. It was a kind of painkiller he and the others used occasionally to help ease the pain and – he had to admit – to get high. "What's that?"

"Painkiller." She eyed it skeptically and took it from his hand. "You're not tryin' to get me high or anything, right?" He clicked his tongue and laid on his back, arms crossed behind his head. "If you don't wan' it, I'll take it." She popped it into her mouth and swallowed it with a sip of water. "Thanks."

He closed his eyes and waved her off – and his whole body tensed up when he felt her laying down on his stomach, one arm wrapped around his midst. He heard her sigh and slowly started to relax while she started to draw small circles on his skin.

"Sorry – can't sleep on my back.", she mumbled lazily and adjusted her position a bit.

Slit closed his eyes again and his hand moved down to her back – careful not to touch the branding that marked her as one of them and they finally fell asleep together – both battered and exhausted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun..dun..duuuun... Yep, sooo that was the fourth chapter. Not thAt fluffy and actually not easy to write - buuuuuuut I'm looking forward to the next chapter since I'm planning to add a little hmm.. sexy time to spice things up a little. This story is not rated "M" for no reason ;) ANYWAY! - I hope you liked the chapter and I just wanted to thank those who have left a review so far - you guys are the best <3


	6. Thrilled

Things had changed for Luvely at the citadel. The War Boys around her finally seemed to accept her, some still avoided her and dared a gaze for a quick second if any.

She was one of them now – a War  _Chick_ , how Slit had managed to call her the other day and she actually preferred the term over being called a  _boy_  – even if she sometimes liked to speak like one and behaved like one on several occasions already.

Luvely was glad when she noticed how well her wounds slowly but steady started to heal – even if her neck itched like hell, now that the skin formed a healing crust. It would leave a permanent mark on her skin that was for sure – and she had asked Slit to describe the branding to her and in return he just showed her his own and she remembered how his strong back muscles had flexed when she proceeded to touch it and even traced her fingers down the long scar which covered his spine.

She felt a little tingle down in the pit of her abdomen and it grew stronger the more she thought about the unpredictable lancer. Yes, his mood and his rough behavior could be – overtaxing, but she liked it more than she liked to admit to herself.

 _And his body – ugh. I wonder if –_ She shook her head and tried to focus again – she couldn't watch and play with the Pups while having such kind of thoughts.  _"Smalls!"_

She couldn't help but grin as the War Pups who used to ignore and avoid her suddenly called out for her in union and soon she found herself crowded by laughing and hyped up boys. She didn't even mind that the nickname Slit had given her now stuck to her like the war paint she was wearing.

It had been a strange feeling when Pip – who had begged her to let him help – applied the first layer of clay on her bruised skin. It was cold and she had to accustom herself to the feeling of a thick and – until it dried – sticky film of a foreign substance on her skin, but she had managed. She had told herself that she would manage everything they threw at her, if that meant she could stay at the citadel.

When they finally calmed down a bit and stopped asking her if she had already bitten someone that day, she found herself sitting with her favorite Pups – on the spot where they had approached her on her first day.

"How's life as a War Boy, Luv?", Shifty asked her and yes, he had already asked her that particular question every single time when she had visited. "S'good. You'll like it – probably." She shrugged and smiled at them. "Well, unless you are okay with hundreds of snoring comrades around you when you're tryin' to sleep." They laughed and she chimed in – even if she didn't laugh that much when it actually happened and she got the feeling like they were all attending in a snoring competition.

There were also other noises she could hear at night – when she laid awake and they thought no one could her them. Noises which made her blush once in a while or sigh in frustration, since it often made her get in mischief. "Anyway", she shook her head again and stood up. "I'm already late for practice and you are late for breakfast." She rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms, while they whined and protested for her to stay a bit longer. "Sorry mates – but Nux hates waiting and Slit will probably whoop my ass again if I'm late, which I already am,  _sooo_."

They giggled and gave her a hug, while she waved her goodbyes at the other Pups which were surveying the foreign affection between her and the little group around her curiously.

* * *

 

"She's late.", Nux stated and crossed his arms over his scarred chest. Slit, who was casually leaning against the hood of their car just clicked his tongue and shrugged. "What? No curses, no threats?" The younger War Boy chuckled. "Well, that's a first."

Slit arched an eyebrow at him and decided to stay quiet. – but he knew his driver and he knew that Nux was starting to go somewhere with his statements. "Dude, she's got you twisted around her lil' finger." And to underline his point, he made a gesture with his own pinkie. Slit snorted.

"I see how you two look at each other sometimes and – no offense" He raised his arms in defense and took a step back. "but shit's creepin' me out."

Slit almost laughed at him. "The  _fuck_  are you talkin' about, Nuts? We – There's – I – " And then Slit realized that he stuttered – literally fucking stuttered and had no answer or argument for his driver, who – actually fucking  _grinned_ at him with a triumphant look on his silly face.

"Admit it, Slit – you want a piece of her ass." Nux chuckled, Slit huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Didn't think you could get any more nuts,  _Nuts._ " Nux waved him off. "Yeah, yeah – keep tellin' that to yourself." And he patted the older males shoulder. " _Aaaand_  there she is – finally!" Nux proceeded to lean against the front of the car, just like Slit.

* * *

 

Luvely jogged the last few feet toward the waiting men and gave a quick wave. "Sorry." She tried to catch her breath, since the desert sun already tried to dry her out and smiled at them – at Slit, mostly. "Hi."

He gave her a quick nod and went to climb into the lancers perch, while Nux chuckled and Luvely could only arch a confused eyebrow at him. "What's wrong with him?" Nux waved her off and went to the passenger seat. "Nothing, just a bit – edgy." He chuckled again, while Slit huffed and tried not to focus on his driver's statements. "Huh." She looked at Slit and had to shield her eyes from the sun, while she checked him out.

"Hey Nux?" He stopped in his tracks and looked at her curiously.

Luvely coughed slightly and readjusted her ponytail. "Mind if we, uh –  _try_  something today?" She smiled innocently at him and kicked at some grit at her feet.

Nux closed the door to the passenger seat again and crossed his arms over his chest, while Slit's attention got caught. "Like what?"

Luvely scratched the back of her head awkwardly and flinched as she accidentally scratched the crust of her brand. "I –  _ouch_  – I, thought that maybe" She shifted from one foot to another. "Spill it, Smalls." Nux demanded with a cheeky grin on his face. "I want to try the lancer position!"

* * *

 

His driver's head snapped to him, after Luvely had announced what she really wanted – and Slit had to admit, that he felt really uncomfortable about it. They shared a quick look and he felt a sting of betrayal when Nux nodded to him, so he just shrugged – even if he actually didn't want to.

Nux was the driver, he decided if he was okay with a rookie standing on the lancers perch, then be it – he wouldn't argue with him, so he jumped off the perch and rounded the vehicle, but Nux stopped him. "Woah, wait" He pushed a hand against his chest. "you will help her – and secure her."

Slit growled, pushed Nux' hand away and motioned for Luvely to follow him. "That's right, Slit – be a good lancer and listen' to your driver!" But Slit flicked him off and jumped onto the perch after Luvely. " _Fuck you!_ ", he mouthed to Nux and suppressed a snarl, but the younger War Boy just snickered to himself and took place behind the wheel.

* * *

 

When Luvely once thought, driving a car was ace – she would have never guessed that  _standing on_   _the back_  of a car going high speed would give her an even bigger kick!

Her heart was beating fast, her face already numb from the whipping wind, the small amount of whirled sand which hid her face from time to time and she couldn't hide how excited she was by laughing – almost manically.

She could feel Slit behind her, securing her every time Nux took a sharp turn – and that was quite often. Up to that point he had pressed her against the back of the car, had wrapped one of his strong arms around her waist and gave her tips about how to move and steady herself on the lancer perch.

Every single time their bodies touched, she could feel how her bare skin prickled and craved for more – touching, grabbing and pressing. The prickling feeling returned to her abdomen and intensified when those wild thoughts returned to her mind – those teasing little fantasies she had since the day she had kissed him.

* * *

 

Slit suddenly banged on the sunroof from behind her. "Easy you idiot! Or you'll throw us off!", he managed to bark and Nux actually reacted – even if it was the exact opposite of what his lancer had told him to do.

Slit wrapped his arm around her again, this time a bit higher than he wanted to, but Nux continued to drive like a lunatic – so Slit was forced to stay in that position, otherwise he was sure they would both land in the sand any second.

But he noticed how he could feel her heartbeat – going strong and fast under his palm. He realized the soft flesh he was just squeezing lightly, was actually her firm breast and he could also feel how her nipple perked up and pressed against his touch through the rather thin fabric. He knew that his rational reaction should be him placing his hand somewhere more appropriate, but  _damn_ – his mind screamed for him to rip the fabric out of his way.

* * *

 

Luvely stiffed for a second when she suddenly felt Slit gripping her breast. Her heart hammered in her chest, from adrenaline and surprise, and she felt how her body reacted to his touch – embarrassingly fast and obvious.

As Nux started to drive a more comfortable pace, Luvely took the chance and turned her face to Slit – who quickly looked at her and moved his hand back to her hips. He probably thought she would yell at him or tell him to never touch her again, but she didn't. – Instead she leaned closer to his face, feeling the urge to show him  _how_ _ok_  she was with him touching her – how bad she actually wanted and needed it.

* * *

 

Nux somehow managed to know what was about to happen, since he abruptly shifted his gears and sped up – forcing Slit to stumble forward and collapse onto Luvely's body. "Nux! You little shithead!" Slit snarled at him and slammed his fist against the rear window, but Nux just turned to them for a second or two and laughed.

And then Slit was very aware of the shifting body beneath him. "You're still kinda' heavy." She chuckled and tried push herself up, but before Slit let her, he crushed his lips onto hers. – They parted quickly again, but Slit proceeded to press his forehead to hers, grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

 

The Wash Room was empty – everyone was either still working or at the mess hall, eating.

Luvely took advantage of the chance to take a bathe in silence and with no fear of being completely naked. So she quickly removed her heavy black boots and stripped out of her pants –careful not to spill the goodies which she carried in her many pockets. Then she peeled herself out of her improvised wrap top and placed the pile of clothes next to the tub at the far corner of the entrance.

Luvely watched with a strange fascination as the clay easily washed off her skin in the lukewarm water and turned it into a milky white color – while it looked like a spreading cloud. She proceeded to tie her hair up in a messy bun and sat with her back to the entrance – enjoying the feeling of getting clean again.

She sighted and noticed the permanent smile on her face – and she felt happy and, she had to admit, seriously flustered. It had been just a quick kiss, nothing special – but then again, it was and Luvely could still feel his rough lips on hers, his painted forehead carefully pressed against her own; and she knew that the touching foreheads were a pretty intimate gesture in the Wasteland.

To her it meant trust, affection – a way of showing that one cared and wanted to be close to their counterpart. Close enough to share, strengthen and form a bond.

Luvely sighted again and started to rub the clay off her shoulder, until she softly brushed her neck and collarbone. She bit her bottom lip and grinned, while a bold idea popped up in her mind – but she shook her head, chuckled quietly and splashed some water to her face until she was sure most of the dry clay had been washed off.

She started to hum a song she used to sing with her deceased friends and let her hands wander down her body underwater, since she actually had to wash the clay away and knew that her skin wouldn't magically clean itself.

The image of Slit's hand pressed to her breasts suddenly popped up again and she wished for it to be real.

 _No way._ She shook her head again and smiled, while single strands of her hazel hair managed to slip out of her bun and tickled her wet skin.

 _Although…_ Her hands wandered over her breasts, her flat and toned stomach down to her abdomen. She ran her fingers over the already faded thin scars, which covered the area under her bellybutton, down to her nether regions – but before she touched the erogenous zone between her legs, she moved her hands to her thighs and massaged the tender flesh.

Luvely allowed her mind to wander, let her little daydreams take over her – and a light blush crept over her cheeks as she imagined Slit doing these things to her.

Slowly she spread her legs and enjoyed the feeling of her own flexing muscles and the way the water lap against her heated skin. She trailed her fingers up her thighs again, while her skin tickled and jerked the further she moved between her legs – and she laid her head back against the edge of the tub and relaxed.

She started to rub her clit in slow and small circles and shuddered, while she could feel how little water drops dripped down her neck and she imagined how Slit would manage to lick them off of her slowly and teasing– maybe nibble on her throat while his strong hands proceed to grope her tits again.

She closed her eyes and felt how her body slowly started to tense, while the all too familiar feeling built up in her lower belly – so she increased the pace she caressed her clit and started to gently finger herself.

A soft moan escaped her lips when she noticed the slick wetness between her legs and how easy she could add a second finger – even though she would have preferred him to cause her such guilty pleasure.

She started to breathe heavy and fitfully and it felt like every single muscle in her body braced as Luvely neared her sweet release and she eagerly bit her bottom lip to stop her whimpers and moans to escape – but failed. The thought of Slit fucking her was almost enough to finally send her over the edge – but the desire for it to be real was strong and somehow frustrating. " _Slit."_ – She ignored the embarrassing fact that his name had quietly slipped over her lips like a request she begged for.

And she fingered herself faster, almost uncontrolled when she finally felt how close she was. "Aw –  _fuck_!" She buckled her hips and gasped, when it hit her, her muscles twitched and tightened around her fingers as her orgasm washed over her like a wave of pure ecstasy and the following relaxation.

* * *

 

Slit hadn't seen Luvely since their – little lancer  _training._ Nux had continued to mock him after she had hurried away when they parked the car in the garage again and he had quickly lost her in the crowd of fellow War Boys.

They were all busy preparing for the upcoming supply run which Nux and Slit himself would attend. It would be bigger than usual since more Buzzards had been spotted around their territory recently.

Now everything Slit worried about was his little faux pas – even if it hadn't felt like one. He had liked, obviously and so did she – or so he had thought, since she seemed to avoid him. Why else would she run off like that? It made no sense – but then again, Slit was frequently confused since the day he had picked her up in the desert.

He sighted and decided to look for her.

It took him a while to find the right track – but after several minutes of asking questions, he had managed to find someone who had seen her walking to the spring and that made sense to him, since Nux had harassed them pretty bad – that little douche.  _You actually fucking kissed her man!_ His shocked expression popped up in his mind again.  _What the fuck is wrong with you two?!_ The driver had laughed – and Slit had growled. Nothing was wrong with them – the lancer snorted and rounded the corner to the spring's entrance – they were perfectly fine.

He couldn't spot her right away, he didn't call out to her either and he turned around to leave again, since the spring seemed empty, when he heard something instead.

The rather silent sound of splashing water caught his attention, he peered into the corner where it came from – and instantly froze again.

And then there she was. Bathing.  _Probably_  naked, since he could see the pile of clothes next to her tub and she seemed somehow – busy, but he couldn't see her face and just saw how her head rested against the edge of the tub and that the water was already murky from her clay.

Slit knew that he should have left her alone, since he knew how uncomfortable she always felt when she had to clean herself while the others were around, but he couldn't. He was bound to the sight of her, even though he could barely see her skinny shoulder and her neck. Nothing special, since he had already seen her naked once and since she didn't had much to cover herself with in general except for that weird shawl and her pants – but still.

This time it was different.

So Slit leaned against the stone wall of the entrance, crossed his legs at his feet and his arms over his chest and decided to wait for her in a – in his opinion – appropriate distance.  _No big deal._  He swallowed hard when the thought of her wet and naked body came to his mind.  _I'm just waitin' for a friend, who'll probably need someone to help with the clay afterwards. – Yeah, keep tellin' that to yourself you fuckin' stalker._

He facepalmed himself. Never had he been so conflicted about such thing and then he heard her – moan.

 _Maybe she hurt herself today?_ Slit arched an eyebrow.  _Maybe it was my fault?!_ He suppressed the urge to groan and took a step towards her, but he stopped in his tracks, when he heard her moan again – louder and then he realized that it was not a moan caused by pain, since he knew how these kinds sounded.

And Slit observed her closer and noticed how her shoulders moved and tensed, how her movements created little waves around her and how intense she breathed.

" _Slit!_ " His whole body felt electrified – like the one time he had touched a car battery with his tongue to proof Nux how brave and especially stupid he was when they were younger.

"Aw _– fuck!"_ His blood proceeded to rush down into his raging erection which was suddenly pressing against his pants, as he watched and listened to her.

Slit could see her breasts for a second, how they emerged from the water as she somehow seemed to push herself up and he could hear the sweet sound of gasps and moans escaping her lips – nothing that helped his boner to vanish.

* * *

 

As Luvely caught her breath again and was sure that the after-climax shakiness wouldn't let her end up stumbling to the ground, she splashed some water to her face once more and pushed herself out of the water – right in time to see the scarred back of Slit moving toward the entrance and she almost choked on her scream.

Thousand thoughts rushed to her mind and she could feel how all her blood drained into her cheek – burnt them up real good, before she hastily grabbed her pants and slipped them on.

"Hey!" She barked and he instantly froze, while she could hear him curse under his breath. "Yeah, you!" He slowly turned around and she just covered her breasts with her hands.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asked and actually liked the way he awkwardly stared at the ground, even though she still felt horribly embarrassed and caught in the act.

"I – uh, well" He stuttered and she noticed how he had placed his hand over his crotch. "Did you just watch me – take a bath?" She decided to not extra explain what she actually had done, since she wasn't sure how long he had been standing there.

"What? No, I – I" He finally looked her in the eyes and she saw how embarrassed he looked – and she was sure he was just as flushed as her. "Yeah, yeah – you're such a bad liar." She waved him off and walked towards him until she stood in front of him, while he tried to focus on something else but her and kept covering his crotch with his hands.

"What's wrong?" She arched an eyebrow, eyed him up and down until it hit her and she almost gasped. "Oh –  _oh_!" He coughed slightly and avoided her gaze. "Are you kidding me, Slit?" She chuckled and could swear that she saw some blushed skin on his face.

But then a thought came to her mind and without a warning she let her hands sink and smirked as she saw his reaction. "Well", she started and took a step towards him until their bodies almost touched. She then shoved his hands aside and replaced them with her own. "you've seen me."

And she started to gently stroke his erection through his rough pants and smirked when he shuddered and suppressed a groan through gritted teeth. She leaned forward until her lips almost touched his ear. "now I want to see you."

"Aw c'mon guys! Really?!"

And they quickly jumped apart, when Nux suddenly appeared behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehehehehehehe.
> 
> Not much else to say about this chapter - I just wanted those two idiots to finally.. you know.. do something :D
> 
> And again - thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far - really appreciate that :3 Hope you guys also liked this chapter, even if this was probably not quiet the "le sexy time" that you had expected :p


	7. Loud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My my my... this chapter was a challenge, but I finished it anyway and I really hope you like it :D And I just realized - writing smut is much harder in German (No pun intended.), well at least for me, hm. Oh yeah.. there's some smut in this chapter :D Hope you don't mind.. Enjoy :3 
> 
> Oh, and - I love my readers, their cute and encouraging reviews and this whole fandom. 
> 
> And the lizard king, of course. He's my spiritual animal. Ok, I think I'm done now. Go on and read. <3

Luvely quickly left after Nux had managed to appear out of nowhere and had thus destroyed the moment between his lancer and her.

As soon as they were alone, Nux turned to Slit – a judging look on his face. "And now tell me again how you don't wanna hook up with her." He gestured to his crotch and chuckled. "You sure can't deny that fuckin' tent in your fuckin' pants, man."

Slit couldn't react to his drivers mocking, for he was still too dumbfounded. "Are you even listening to me? Slit?" He didn't and started to move past Nux, who kept trying to talk to him. "Hey Slit! – I was joking!" But Slit kept moving – all he wanted to do is being alone and getting rid of his hard-on. "It's ok if you two – y'know!"

* * *

 While Luvely covered herself in white clay, she was glad to be alone and she was also glad to have a task she could focus on – even though she hardly did. Her right leg didn't stop shaking while she kept thinking about her little encounter with Slit.  _What the actual hell was I thinking?!_ "Nothing. I wasn't thinking, like – at all." And again she was glad that she was all by herself, quietly answering her own unspoken questions.

When she had finally finished her war paint by applying the black layer of paint around her eyes, she stored her used bowls away and marched through the tunnels – deciding that she would pay her Pups a second visit and maybe staying the night at their bunks – just for old time's sake of course.

* * *

 The next day Slit woke up and immediately felt how sorely disappointed he was to find the rest of his bunk empty. She had stayed away from their bunk and that fact frustrated Slit more than he liked to admit to himself.

He quickly put on his boots and his tool belt and climbed out of his bunk, just to find Nux already waiting for him at the ground. "Where's she?" Slit shrugged and cracked his knuckles. "Dunno."

And Slit didn't like the sudden shit-eating grin on his drivers face – it always made him feel like punching him. "Well, guess she found a replacement for you." – "Fuck off, Nux!"

Several bad jokes and some teasing later, they arrived at the already full mess hall and they both grabbed their share of breakfast and sat down at their regular table, with most of their regular comrades. – Slit couldn't help but looked out for her every now and then, but the space was crowded as always. He ate in silence, until the lancer next to him, Rusty, nudged him. "Hey Slit, where's that Smalls girl? She always hangs 'round with you, no?" Slit snorted and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Dunno." He heard how the other War Boys at their table asked Nux next, since he was also known for being close friends with her and Slit didn't like how interested they seemed in her. Not at all.

"Haven't seen her since last night." Slit noticed the leering look that Nux darted at him and furrowed his brows. He hadn't done anything wrong and he wasn't the one who clearly avoided her now. She ran off and had left him behind with his stupid friend and his painful arousal – forced to cope with his foreign feelings all by himself.

"That's her, right?", Rusty exclaimed cheerfully and thus caught Slit's attention. He gazed at the direction Rusty pointed at and tried to act as nonchalantly as he could – even though he knew that Nux had already figured him out. "Yeah, that's her.", he muttered and rose from his seat.

"Where is he going?" Rusty's driver, Tugg, asked Nux curiously and shared a look with his own lancer – but Nux just grabbed Slit's still half full bowl and started eating. He knew that his friend had to take care of some – private – business.

Slit pushed through the crowd and he felt his anger rising, when he spotted them again. Luvely was talking to Cooper, one of the Repair Boys and he knew that she had already worked with him. He must have said something funny, because she started to laugh and his jealousy took over, when she suddenly patted his chest.

Slit growled and ignored her protest, when he grabbed Cooper by the straps of his dark overalls and pushed him against one of the near tables. "If I was you, I'd stay away from her from now on, Puppy." Cooper struggled against his grip, but soon realized that he had no chance against the stronger War Boy, so he just nodded furiously and swallowed hard when Slit finally let go off him. The intimidated boy hurried away, but the other War Boys around them were still excitedly watching them, since they knew Slit and his occasional violent outbursts.

And he was still trembling angrily, when Luvely got a hold on one of his arms and forced him to turn around. "What the  _fuck_  was that about?!", she spat angrily and didn't care that all the attention was focused on them now. "Where the  _fuck_  have you been last night?", he spat back and made a step towards her until he was looking down at her, using his height to dominate her, to make her feel how he had felt the last few hours. Small and humiliated.

"Or did you already find some other fool who is willing to share his fuckin' bunk with you?!" He got a fast slap in the face as an answer and he could only watch how she stormed off – again. Leaving Slit behind – again.

* * *

 Luvely was pacing and cursing at the same time. After she had stormed off, she had found herself a quiet and rather secluded corridor and used it to blow off some steam – and she started to regret what she had done the previous night. She regretted touching and teasing him, showing him bluntly how she somehow felt and then leaving him just like that.

But she also still couldn't believe what Slit had done to Cooper, just because he had talked and joked with her. He acted like a supreme asshole – out of pure jealousy. Luvely stopped pacing. "No, no, no." She shook her head. "No way."

But it made sense somehow. She bit the inner of her cheek.  _Maybe he is jealous._ "Hm. – No!" She ruffled her hair and leaned against the stone wall.  _And it's my fucking fault._ "Great." She pushed herself off the wall and started walking in the direction where the repair bays were. "I'm a fuckin' idiot."

* * *

 Slit and Nux worked in silence, even though the lancer could feel the deploring looks his driver shot at him – and Slit was fine with it as long as Nux would keep his mouth shut.

"You do know that you just acted like a jerk, right?" Slit sighted – of course Nux wouldn't grant him the favor and he was already very aware of that fact. "I'll just take that as a yes."

The driver sat cross-legged on the roof of their car, while Slit prepared the thundersticks on his lancer perch for the upcoming supply run and he slowly felt annoyed by the way Nux was looking at him, his head tilted and a goofy grin on his face. "How does it feel to get yer dick grabbed like that?"

Slit bit back a chuckle and turned towards the younger male. "Why? Wanna try it?" And he feint to reach out for his crotch, but Nux quickly closed his legs and almost tumbled backwards off the roof as he tried to slide away from him.

The lancer let out a triumphant laugh and secured his last lance while Nux positioned himself again, muttering. "Smeg."

A slight cough caught their attention. "Am I interrupting?" And Slit's stomach dropped at the sight of her – these damn strange feelings returned and he mentally cursed himself for earlier. "No, not at all!", Nux exclaimed cheerfully and winked at Slit – very obvious for her to see.

* * *

 "I need to talk to you." She maintained direct eye contact with Slit and cracked her knuckles nervously. Slit shrugged and pretended to be busy with his weapons. "-'bout what?"

Luvely felt more than uncomfortable. She had no idea how to approach him and how to explain herself – and Nux' presence made it even more awkward, but he made no move to leave them alone.

She coughed again. "I – uh, well – "

"Are you cheating on my friend, Smalls?", Nux suddenly interrupted her and smirked. "He was very worried about you, y'know." – "Nux!" Slit tried to punch him, but Nux was faster and dodged his fist. "What? I'm just tryin' to help!" – "Shut it, Nuts! I can handle her by myself.", Slit growled and Luvely was taken aback by his statement.

" _You_  can handle  _me_?", she laughed provocatively and pointed a finger at him. "Who do you think you are? I can do whatever the fuck I want!"

Slit jumped of the back off the car and came to a halt in front of her. "More like you can  _do_  whoever the fuck you want.", he growled and wanted to walk past her, but she stopped him by pressing her hands to his chest – and she felt how she had to fight the urge to kiss him, despite the anger she felt.

"No! I'm not letting you go.", she proclaimed and couldn't hide the desperation in her undertone. "Just – listen to me."

"Yeah Slit, listen to her!", Nux said from behind them and earned an angry hiss from Slit, but he turned back to her and – stayed. Luvely took a deep breath and tried to choose her words wisely. "I'm not cheating on you, you idiot." Slit huffed and suppressed the smile that was threatening to form. "And I'm pretty pissed that you two think I'd do that."

"I didn't!" – "Shut  _up_ , Nux!" She focused on him again and she didn't like how he still scowled at her. "I made a mistake yesterday. I regret it, I really do and I'm – sorry." She let her hands sink and she felt how her heart dropped, even if she thought she had made the right decision. "I'm sorry."

She watched as his strong jaw tightened and how scary and intimidating he suddenly looked. "You done?" She nodded slowly and felt hot tears sprinkle in the corner of her eyes as he slowly walked past her. She shared a look with Nux, who looked rather dumbfounded.

"I said I'm sorry you –", she yelled after him but she got cut off and she felt her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, when he suddenly pushed her against the car and trapped her between the door and his body, one of his hands gripping her hip and the other placed next to her face.

"Hey! That's my car!" Nux whined but didn't bother to barge in on them.

"Stop telling me you're sorry!", he snarled and tightened the grip on her hip. He didn't want to hurt her, he just wanted her to stop apologizing and regretting what had happened between them. "But I am!", she hissed back and wished she could stop the tears from falling and smudging her clay.

He let go off her and took a step back and Luvely almost couldn't handle the expression on his face. Angry and hurt at the same time. It broke her heart. "For what?!"

"Because I like you!" She wiped her tears away and tried to look at everything but him. "I like you, Slit.", she repeated quietly. "Ah, finally! She said it!" They both decided to ignore Nux and his comments.

Next, Luvely found herself pressed against the side of the car – again. Slit had furiously crushed their lips together, holding her face with both of his hands and feeling how she dug her fingernails into his sides. – And she let out a small whimper, when he caught her lower lip between his teeth and had a rough tug.

"Alright." Nux clapped once and jumped off the roof. "I can't take much more of that. – I'm out." Slit let out a low chuckle. "Finally." – And captured her mouth with his again.

* * *

 Luvely nervously watched as the War Boys around here prepared everything for the supply run. She stood at the edge of one of the platforms, one of the younger War Pups sleeping peacefully in her arms, even though she was sure that she wouldn't be able to sleep when such noise and rush surrounded her. The Pup had been crying some time before she had started to walk with him and it seemed like the noises of the busy citadel calmed him.

Suddenly the booming voice of Immortan Joe echoed through the whole deep valley and Luvely watched as the wretched on the ground fought over the smallest drop of his Aqua Cola. She shook her head and tried to ignore the thought of her living down there – being one of the wretched and she was more than glad she wasn't.

The light body in her arms shifted and cuddled up to her neck as the heavy War Rig was lowered down to the ground. She watched in amazement how Ace handled the hyped War Boys and she had to admit to herself that she felt the urge to join them and be a part of the job.

But she had to watch the Pups and even if she could go, she was no driver nor lancer. She had no car and little to no experience – something she wanted to change as soon as she could.

* * *

 Slit slowly started to get edgy, impatient. He was ready to go – ready for some action and so was Nux. They both craved the adrenaline rush, just like the rest of the boys.

Unfortunately they had to stay in formation, which meant no races – no shenanigans. The horizon was clear, just like the road ahead of them.

Nux and Slit were driving on the far-right corner of the formation, next to Morsov and his driver on the left side, when the War Rigs loud horn suddenly resounded and the lancers on top of it started to get their weapons ready. "Buzzards!" – "Buzzards on the right!"

Slit cheerfully slammed his fist on the roof. "We're gettin' some today, Nuts!"

* * *

 "The Convoy got attacked!"

Luvely's head snapped up. "What?" Cooper ignored her and kept addressing the rest of the War Boys in the mess hall. It was not as crowded as usual, so every pair of black colored eyes was fixed on him. "Buzzards. They came out of nowhere – at least six of 'em!" She knew that he was known as the one who quickly got information and spread news faster than any of Immortan's scouts, so he must have been telling the truth.

Luvely left her seat and tried to get Cooper's attention. "Did something happen? Is everyone all right?" She wasn't the only one who started to ask questions, but she sure was the only one who wasn't very excited about the fact that they had been attacked.

"Seems like we lost a squad on our side, a car got blown into pieces, but I bet it was a hell of a ride – shiny and chrome!"

Luvely felt like her throat got squished until she wasn't able to properly breathe anymore. Her temperature rose and fell rapidly and she was sure her heart stopped beating for a couple of seconds.

She didn't know how long she had just stood there, concentrating on not fainting – until she incidentally heard how the rest of the boys hurried out of the mess hall – back to the garage. "They're back!"

She could hear the loud engines over the noise of cheering and whooping War Boys. They parked the remaining cars and bikes and Luvely had wished she could see their car, but she was too small and it was too crowded to see anything.

She cursed under her breath and jostled more than one of her comrades while trying to get further, to finally see who had made it and who didn't. She felt herself getting more nervous with every second that passed – every second she couldn't see his scarred face.

"Hey! Have you seen Nux or Slit?" Most of them didn't hear her, didn't even acknowledge her even if she tapped their arms or backs, but she kept asking anyway.

She stopped moving and took a look around, tried to gather herself and calm down, but all she could see were War Boys who all seemed to look alike – a seemingly endless sight of clay covered bodies. She felt herself hyperventilating as she heard her heart pounding in her ears. She started to panic.

* * *

 They had barely made it out together – but they did. Nux had driven like the Fukushima kamicrazy War Boy he was and Slit had been more than precise with his thundersticks.

He was still captured by his adrenaline, when they arrived back at the citadel – greeted and celebrated by War Pups and their comrades. Nux and Slit parted after a quick forehead touch – some appreciation for their collaboration.

Slit pushed through the crowd, since he was more than eager to find someone –  _special_  and he quickly realized that the chances were low to find her in the crowd. He decided to look for her at their bunk – but he stopped when he spotted something familiar out of the corner of his eyes.

He walked towards her, shoving his comrades aside, until he was standing behind her back – her brown hair tamed in a ponytail, giving him a clear look of her petite back and the flaming read branding which was still visible under the clay.

He leaned in until his mouth almost touched her ear. "You lookin' for someone?" – And he smirked, when she jumped and let out a high pitched shriek. She turned around and looked at him with – mouth slightly agape and eyes widened. He arched an eyebrow at her and touched her upper arm with his gloved hand. "Are you all right? You look kinda' –" But she interrupted him by pulling him down by his neckband and kissing him desperately, not caring if anyone saw them.

* * *

 Luvely was wide awake, thinking about the day, about the fact that she had thought she had lost Slit and she felt her stomach tighten. She didn't want to keep thinking about it and the fact that she cared so much – about him – scared her.

Her back was pressed into Slit's strong chest, she could feel herself calming down by focusing on his soft breathing and slight snores – but she wanted to feel him. The securing feeling of him holding her, knowing that he was present and not – gone.

So she grabbed his wrist and proceeded to hug it around her, intertwining her fingers with his.

She sighted softly and closed her eyes, but she felt how he stirred behind her and squeezed her hand. "What's wrong?", he murmured with a sleepy and raspy voice and stretched his legs. She smiled and felt how his thumb drew small circles on the back of her hand. "Nothing." She took a look over her shoulder and it took a couple of seconds until her sight adjusted to the darkness and she could see his light features. "Jus' wanted to make sure you're still here." And she turned back around, while he chuckled quietly.

"Where the hell should I go?" She shrugged and could feel how he cozied up to her until his warm breath tickled her neck. "We're sharein' a bunk and I know Nux won't let me in, if you decide to kick me out."

She smiled and felt goosebumps rising on her skin when he suddenly placed a smooch to the tender zone behind her ear. "I'd never kick you out." He chuckled again – darkly and leaned a bit closer. "Are you sure?"

She turned her face to him. "Pretty sure, yeah.", she whispered and smirked, when he freed his hand out of her grip and started to roam her upper body. "Yeah?" And he slowly shoved his hand under her wrap top and flicked his thumb over her nipple.

* * *

Slit had been dozing the whole time and immediately woke up when Luvely had started to hug his arm to her chest – and now he was turned on again.

It happened so fast and he had no time to hide the erection which started to press against his pants and eventually against her ass. He knew that she knew what she was doing and what they both wanted – longed for.

And he thus showed her by stroking her firm breasts, her toned stomach and he liked the feeling of her scars against his palm. – He heard how Luvely sucked in a breath, laid on her back and grabbed his neck just so she could pull him down for a kiss.

He loved the way her soft lips moved and tasted, how her hot tongue teased his own and how she sucked and nibbled on his skin.

Slit fumbled with her top, while she deepened the kiss and he felt his dick twitch in his pants when a soft sudden moan escaped her lips.

He finally managed to loosen the tight wrap and accidentally threw it out of their bunk as soon as he had a clear view of her round breasts. – He just stared at her, while she nibbled on his neck; but stopped when he didn't make a move, so she leaned in. "You can touch 'em.", she whispered and smiled suggestively, when his eyes snapped back to her. "If you want."

* * *

 Luvely was not prepared, when he suddenly flicked his tongue over one of her already erected nipples and squeezed the other with his free hand. She gasped and almost giggled, since no one had actually done that to her before and she wondered if he would also be so keen on licking her elsewhere.

And she slowly started to guide his hand to the hem of her pants until his fingers slid just about under her waistband and she felt herself blush, when he looked up and at her and smirked. "Someone's needy, huh?"

"Yeah, I see." And she squeezed his dick through his pants and grinned, as he gasped and pulled his hand back. She kept rubbing him, captured his lips for another deep kiss and decided to make a move, since he didn't seem much experienced to her.

He didn't struggle, when she pushed him onto his back and climbed on top of his legs – he just curiously watched as she examined his upper body and traced his scars and staples with her fingers.

Luvely smirked smugly, when she saw how his muscles flexed once she started to unbuckle his belt and hooked her fingers under his waistband. "May I?" And she tugged on his pants, eager to finally see him and she clicked her tongue, when he nodded and let out a shaky breath.

* * *

 Slit had never felt so aroused and hard in his entire Half Life. He excitedly and – he had to admit – nervously watched as she unbuttoned his pants and shoved it down to his knees.

He noticed how he had hold his breath and how his body trembled when she carefully started to stroke him and maintained eye contact – her eyes glazed with lust.

He almost lost it, when she suddenly leaned down and slid her flat tongue over the tip of his throbbing dick, swirled it around and licked away the pre-cum that had already formed. She then started to suck him and used one of her hands to pump what her mouth couldn't reach, while her other hand was placed flat against his stomach.

Slit's eyes rolled back in his head while he experienced a whole new sensation of pleasure and he could already feel how close he was. " _Fuuuck_." He hissed and propped himself on his elbows, while he watched her working on him and he almost whined when she released his craving dick with one final wet pop.

Slit was panting hard as he watched her wriggling out of her own pants and returning to her seat on his legs. "We don't want you to have all the fun, eh?" She smirked as Slit watched her in awe, his pupils dilated and his scarred mouth slightly agape. She started to pleasure herself while he watched her and his dick twitched every time she let out a moan. He was more than tempted to just jerk himself off, but she pushed his hand away and snickered.

* * *

 "And I'm the one in need, huh?" She tilted her head and bit her bottom lip, while she positioned him over her wet entrance and slowly started to sink down on him.

Luvely gasped clearly audible when he suddenly grabbed her waist and quickly pushed her down on him. "Fuck!" She paused for a few seconds, her thighs and stomach flexing while she panted and tried to accustom herself to his length.

Slit didn't let go of her waist and he tried to stop himself from thrusting into her – but she was so tight, so hot and wet around him – it almost made him lose his mind and he groaned when she finally started to move on top of him.

He focused on her graceful moves, her slightly bouncing breasts and how her toned muscles tightened and relaxed again while she rode him. – Slit felt her sensual gaze and he felt his heart hammering in his chest, when she quickened her moves and firmly rolled her hips.

Slit tightened his grip on her waist, when he felt his orgasm building up in the pit of his stomach. With clenched teeth and curled toes he suddenly changed their position and flipped her over. She moaned loudly and twined her legs around his hips, while he started to rapidly thrust into her.

He was more than sure that someone could hear them but – for the love of Immortan Joe and V8 – he couldn't care less. However he captured her lips with his own and tried to muffle the sweet sounds which escaped her mouth, even though it seemed like he was making it worse.

He came with a small shout inside of her and felt his knees getting weak while they lingered in the position – panting and cursing quietly.

* * *

 Luvely suppressed a groan when she released him out of her grip. She was sure she had left some marks on his back which she would examine in the morning. Her knees were jelly and her back hurt from abruptly getting flipped over – but she was happy, even if she didn't –

"Sorry." She furrowed her brows and looked at Slit, who was lying on his back – one arm splayed over his face. She turned to him, hugged his midst and laid her head on his chest. "For what?" She drew small circles on his skin and examined the scars on his belly, just like she always did. "You don't need to be sorry."

"I, uhm – " He shrugged and placed his arm over her shoulder. Luvely chuckled and cuddled up to him. "Slit, you sound like a damn virgin." She felt how he tensed and absentmindedly trailed his finger over her back. "Really?" He shrugged again and sighted, when she pressed a smooch to his strong chest. "Well, then – I'm glad you let me do you." He let out a breathy laugh. "You better watch out or you're actually the one who gets kicked out of the bunk."

She scratched his skin and smirked. "I bet Nux will gladly offer me a place to sleep."

The answer followed quickly – coming from the bunk just above them. "No, I won't – you filthy ferals."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Nux. I love Nux.
> 
> That precious kamicrazy cinnamon roll.


	8. Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry! The last Update.. god it has been TOO long! :o But here it is.. the new chapter – FINALLY! It was actually almost finished and I don’t even know why I stopped writing, huh. You guys are so great! Thanks for all the Reviews <3 Reading them again really motivated me to finish what I started. So, I really hope you’ll enjoy this one.
> 
> Note: I wrote the scene on the lancer perch without actually looking at a picture of the car, so yeah… in my silly mind it was a lot – like A LOT larger. Please just imagine it. *cough cough*

Luvely awoke with a fuzzy-head and a tingling feeling in her whole body. She stretched her limbs as good a she could with Slit’s arm around her upper body – pressing her to his chest.

She could feel his warm breath ghosting over her neck and heard his slight snores, his chest heaving with every breath of air he took.

A smile crept over her face, while she caressed the skin on his arm and noticed the goosebumps which rose on his skin under her light touch.

A sudden rattling sound caught her attention and she listened for a moment, before she recognized Nux’ voice, cursing and breathing heavily – so she carefully loosened Slit’s grip, slipped on her pants and boots and frantically searched for her shawl. “Dammit.”

She slid the thin yellowish curtain in front of their bunk aside and had to blink a few times to accustom her still sleepy eyes to the dark until she detected the lanky hunched over body of the driver.

It seemed that most of their fellow comrades were still asleep since Nux’ coughing fit almost cut through the silence and it surprised Luvely that no one but her seemed to hear him.

She climbed out of the bunk and perforce covered her chest with her arms, slowly walking over to Nux. “Hey.”, she whispered with a raspy voice, but he didn’t react – so she cleared her throat and tried again. “Hey, Nux.” He almost jumped, when she touched his shoulder to get his attention.

“Sorry.” He wanted to say something, but started to cough again while holding his stomach and covering his scarred mouth with his hand. “What’s wrong with you?” She took a step towards him and noticed the beads of sweat on his bald head.

He shook his head and suddenly handed the missing shawl out to her. “Found it“ He wheezed. “– on the ground.” Luvely took it from him and quickly started to wrap it around her bare chest.

She watched as he sat down and tried to catch his breath. He was shaking, his eyes half lidded and as she sat in front of him she could see how glazed his eyes were – giving them an even brighter blue look. Without thinking further, she reached out and touched his forehead with her palm. He didn’t flinch, but leaned into her touch. “You have a fever.” He looked up at her and reached out for her wrist, placing her hand back to her lap. “It’s nothing.”, he mumbled and took a deep breath. “Oh yes, it is something.”

He groaned and wiped the sweat from his face and head. “It’s them.”, he suddenly murmured and pointed at the bumps between his neck and shoulder. “Larry and Barry. They’re doin’ this.”

Luvely understood. She had seen it before and she had seen those bumps on many of the Wretched and War Boys. She already forgot the word her mother had taught her, but she recognized the sickness from her descriptions. It was a sickness that most people suffered from in the Wasteland. Luvely had asked herself many times if she was already stricken with this deadly disease, caused by the environment they were forced to live in.

"You should go and see the Organic. Maybe he can help you.” He shook his head again. “I can’t.” Luvely huffed. Of course he was stubborn and knew better. Just like her brothers used to. “You have to.”, she told him sternly and tried to use the strict voice her parents used to use on her. “Or do you want to die soft? Here. In the depths of the citadel. Where no one would witness you or even care.” He looked at her, brows furrowed, angry and hurt. “It’s up to you, Nux.” She shrugged. Sometimes the best way to get someone to do something was to set them off. Provoke them. Tell them the harsh truth.

Luvely stretched again and yawned, while Nux seemed deep in his own thoughts – jaw clenched and hands balled into fists at his sides. “Anyways – I’m going to look after the Pups.” She stood up again and brushed the dust off her pants. “I know they’re already up.” She chuckled and turned to leave, but Nux gripped her wrist again. “Wait.”

She saw how weak he really was, when he struggled to get up while he still had a hold on her wrist. “I’ll go, but I need you to do me a favor.” Luvely nodded. “Sure.”

* * *

Slit was casually sitting on his lancer perch, legs swaying, working on his weapon – the brace with the hidden blade strapped to his forearm which he had constructed and built all by himself. Something he was fairly proud of. Then his mind drifted to last night – and a pleasant shiver ran down his spine as he thought about Luvely and what she did to him. What they had done to each other.

He remembered the kisses, the sounds and the warmth between them and he suddenly felt the desire rising in his loins – the desire for her.

“Look at you – all focused and hardworking.” Slit startled when she popped up beside him, leaning against the side of the car, her arms crossed. “Oh, did I scare you?” She grinned at him. “I’m so sorry.”

Slit snorted and placed his weapon back next to him. “Liar. – C’mere.” He reached for her and grinned, as she easily let herself get pulled until she was standing between his legs. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned in, smiling and waiting for him to close the short distance between their faces.

He gripped her face with both of his hands and traced his tongue over her bottom lip, as her own tongue suddenly perked out and tasted him – their lips crushed together, tongues collided and while Luvely’s hands gripped Slit’s upper thighs, his hands wandered down her back until he got a hold of her behind. “Where’s Nux?”, he mumbled against her lips, since he wanted to make sure his driver got no chance to catch them in the act again – but she pulled back and shrugged nonchalantly. “I saw him on my way to you – told me he got orders from… above. He seemed to be in a hurry, so –“, she trailed off, as he looked at her – one eyebrow arched in skepticism. “– looks like it’s just us.”

She smiled when she already felt the arousal in his pants and heard his low gasp every time her hands stroked over it – and suddenly he gripped her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. “Don’t start something you can’t finish around here, woman.”, he growled, his voice husky with desire and licked his lips when she pouted at him. “Aw, Slit – I thought you already knew me better.” She fluttered her eyelashes, hooked one of her index fingers into the waistband of his pants and placed his hand on her chin down to her breast. “I love a good challenge.” And a wolfish smile played on her lips while she slowly undid his buckles, finally unzipped his pants and noticed how he swallowed hard.

With a thrill of anticipation Slit watched as she freed his cock – achingly slow and his whole body tensed up when he eventually felt her hands working on him – stroking him. He leaned back and supported himself on his hands, while he watched her – and he tilt his head back, when she suddenly flicked her wet tongue over the sensitive tip of his dick.

He let out a – to him – unfamiliar sound, when she started to suck his whole length until he could feel her warm breath on his stomach and his hand reached out to the back of her head in an instinct, as he slowly but surely felt his shattering orgasm rising, while her tongue swirled over his tip and then continued bobbing her head to the rhythm of his rapid breathing.

He gripped her ponytail tighter and clenched his teeth to stop another one of those uncharacteristically sounds from emerging his mouth – but he couldn’t stop the whine which slipped over his lips, when she suddenly stopped her moves and loosened his grip on her hair.

He was panting and stared at her smugly smiling face in shock – his dick still in one of her hands, while her thumb drew small circles on the tip – making his whole body jerk every time she caressed the now overly sensitive flesh. “You know – you’re very selfish, Slit.” And her smile grew bigger as she noticed the confusion on his face. He was aroused and distressed and Luvely knew that all too well – but so was she and she also wanted something of that sweet relief – just like him.

He obviously caught her off guard when he easily scooped her up on the lancer perch and pushed her down next to him – and Luvely didn’t protest when Slit started to scatter sloppy kisses on her stomach. She bit her bottom lip and watched how he trailed his tongue over her scars, while one of his hands slowly slid into her loose pants.

She promptly spread her legs as soon as his fingers brushed the delicate spot she so desperately wanted to be touched. “I saw what you did last night”, he murmured to her ear and placed a quick kiss to her neck. “ – to yourself.” He applied more pressure while he rubbed her clit and smirked to himself when he heard a high-pitched gasp escape her parted lips. “Yeah, guess that’s the spot.” He chuckled sadistically and noticed the growing wetness in which he keenly dipped his fingers until he penetrated her and heard how she sucked in a sharp breath.

It was the moment Slit got uncertain and Luvely eventually noticed, so she grasped his wrist carefully. “It’s all right – you’re doin’ good.” She place a kiss on the unscarred skin of his cheek and managed to wiggle off her pants and boots until she felt the chilly surface of the car on her skin – but Slit stopped her before she could seat herself on top of him. “Wait.“ He pushed her back so she was lying flat underneath him. “I wanna try something.” So she just nodded, watched him curiously as he positioned himself between her straddled and propped herself on her elbows to get a better view of him.

Slit was still unsure of his scheme. He did remember how she had touched herself and he already knew how it felt when she licked and sucked him, but he didn’t know if she would like it as well.

He let out a shallow breath and gazed at her for a second as if he was asking for a last permission before he placed brisk kisses to her inner thighs and noticed how her muscles tensed up the nearer he got to the shiny and swollen bud between her labia.

He started by flicking the tip of his tongue over her clit in a quick motion – and he hadn’t expected such reaction from her as she gasped and let her head tilt back when he continued licking her. The way she softly moaned his name set his loins on fire and made his heart pound in his chest in a way only being on the road ever managed to attain – and Slit had to push her down with one of his hands while he penetrated her again with two slick and fast fingers.

Luvely was sure she saw stars dancing in front of her vision as Slit finger-fucked her. Her hand reached out to the back of his skull while his fingers swiftly pumped her and his mouth kept sucking on her swollen clit while she could feel the coolness of his staples against her skin.

Her legs started shaking and tensing when she felt how close she was to climax. She bit her bottom lip to stop the moans of pure pleasure escaping her lips and dug her nails into the flesh of her stomach.

Slit quickly withdrew his fingers out of her. Her body squirmed underneath him in protest and she shot him a bewildered look, before he pushed himself on his knees and yanked her up just to turn her around. “Enough with the teasing.”, he growled through gritted teeth, slipped his pants down to his knees and forced her to stand on all fours while firmly gripping her hips.

Luvely groaned when she felt his upper body pressed against her back and due to his height he had no problems to reach her neck, her shoulders and the side of her face. She shuddered when she felt the head of his cock at her awaiting entrance. “Do you want this?” She could hear that he was smirking and she took a look over her shoulder, captured his lips, slid her tongue into his mouth and quickly pulled back – nodding. “Good, ‘cause I ain’t stoppin’ now.”, he hissed and with one swift hip thrust he entered her, slamming her hips back onto him – keeping her in place.

Slit held still for a moment, enjoying the hot tightness around his cock while she adjusted herself by spreading her legs apart. He lightly caressed his fingers over her shoulder blades, down her spine to her firm bun and watched in awe how his cock disappeared into her – all shiny from her own wetness.

He licked his suddenly very dry lips and started to rock his hips – his cock easily sliding in and out of her while her back muscles flexed and soft moans filled his ears. His whole body prickled with pleasure, but he was too distracted by the idea of sex, her body and her juicy tightness around his cock and the image of having her that way. His mind wandered to Immortan Joe and if that was the way he had his breeders every day – and he thanked him. Thanked him for letting Luvely stay, for giving him the chance to meet her – to take her just like Immortan took his breeders and Slit didn’t even realize how he suddenly pounded into her.

The sound of naked flesh smacking against each other and the heavy breathing of him and her filled the garage bay – and he could feel the tingling knot forming in his lower back, just the way he always felt when he was about to cum.

Luvely was struggling not to buckle and she was glad to feel Slit’s rough hands on her hips, keeping her steady. She didn’t know where he had learned all these moves or if he just acted out of instinct – but he was currently brushing against a sweet and secret spot inside of her which made her head spin and her heart hammer in her chest. She felt him leaning forward, his body pressing into her back. “I want you to cum for me.” His voice was shaky, hoarse and it send goosebumps down her spine. She bit her bottom lip, tried to focus on the steady rhythm of his thrusts. He placed a kiss behind her earlobe. “Then make me.”, she uttered through gritted teeth and dug her nails into the metal underneath her.

He chuckled darkly – his thrusts suddenly harder and erratic. “Oh, I will.” Her own hand reached out to stimulate herself while she supported her weight on her other arm – her breath coming in sharp sniffs, her whole body aching and shaking for release. She was sweaty and messy – it all seemed too good to be real and then she felt his teeth digging into the tender flesh of her shoulder – sending her over the edge while she bit into her own upper arm, squeezing her eyes shut, muffling her moan while she finally reached her orgasm.

A low grunt escaped Slit’s occupied mouth as he felt her wet walls spasm around his throbbing cock. He definitely hadn’t expected that and he let go of her shoulder, pleased with the bright reddish mark he left there and he rocked his hips forward until his own climax followed shortly – his vision almost blurry while he came inside of her.

Slit paused a moment before he pulled out, both trying to catch their breath. He placed a single kiss to her spine and laid down next to her, one arm behind his head while she laid flat on her stomach, resting her face on her arms and a toothy grin playing on her lips. “Y’know” He rolled to his side to look at her face, caressing his hand over her back while he spoke. “– I wouldn’t mind Nux stayin’ away more often.”

* * *

After their little distraction on the lancer perch they had to part eventually to take care of their daily duties – even though Luvely had other things on her mind. Nux, mainly. She wanted to know what happened, what Organic had told him – if he will make it or if he can be treated.

Luvely found Nux in the V8 room, next to the Organic’s. He sat in front of the shiny shrine, the wheel of his car resting in his lap and Luvely tried to block out the gruesome noises filling the Organic’s Blood Shed when she sauntered over to him.

“You look better.” She crouched next to him until their shoulders touched. “Well, kinda.” She playfully nudged him when he didn’t react and watched how his fingers absentmindedly trailed the shimmery metal of his decorated steering wheel.

She bit the inner of her cheek and carefully leaned against him, sliding her hand down his forearm to his hand, intertwining their fingers. ”You’re gonna be all right, Nux.” He exhaled slowly and she felt how he lightly squeezed her hand back. “Yeah.” His voice was low and raspy. “Yeah.” He nodded, but Luvely knew that he was lying. He didn’t believe her and the Organic probably told him what was wrong with him.

“He tried to explain it to me.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t understand everything, but looks like I’m gettin’ myself some Blood Bags.”

* * *

The next few times Nux sneaked off to get his blood transfusions, Luvely had managed to cover him. Gave him an alibi – so Slit wouldn’t find out. She didn’t know why exactly he didn’t want his lancer, his closest friend to find out about his sickness, but she didn’t bother to ask him. She knew that it was already hard enough for him as it was.

“Why are you still here? I thought you’re gonna get a transfusion today?”, Luvely asked the young driver as she spotted him in his bunk. He was lying on his back, one of his arms lazily draped over his eyes – and he didn’t react to her. “Nux?”, she called out for him as she approached him, climbing the bunks until she reached his. “What’s wrong?”, she asked again – softly and concerned. His breath was shallow and he was sweating again. “No Blood Bag for me today. Not the right –“ He jolted up, grabbed his throat in desperation and coughed.

“Hey. Easy.” Luvely rubbed his back soothingly. She already knew that there was nothing she could do to help him – other than giving him some comfort. “– blood type.”, he finally managed to choke out after he calmed down again.

“The right blood type? There are actually different blood types?” He nodded slowly and looked at her. His eyes were tired, heavy-lidded and glazed. “Huh. I didn’t know that.” Luvely reached out to touch his forehead and she wasn’t surprised when she felt how feverish he was again. “Did Organic give you any drugs for the fever?” He shook his head.

Luvely clicked her tongue in angry distress. “You need to get to the springs. There’s always water. You need to cool down.” Nux coughed again, gasped for air and she saw how weak he actually was. “Can’t move. Too dizzy.”

“Well then, I will help you walk.”, and she reached out for his arm, but he stopped her. “No!” She only blinked at him in confusion and noticed how dried up his war paint was – crumbling off his feverish skin. “Slit.” – And then Luvely understood. Nux really didn’t want his lancer to find out and if she would stay away the afternoon, he would get even more skeptical.

Luvely hesitated for a moment and watched as he grimaced in pain. “I can handle Slit later, but now you need my help.” She saw how he wanted to protest again and instead she pressed her finger onto his scarred lips. “Don’t even try it, War Boy. In this condition you’re gonna lose, eh?” And she only grinned as he proceeded to scowl at her.

* * *

They arrived the springs without any more problems. They passed some War Boys, some comrades – but they didn’t seem to mind since Nux had managed to look quite normal every time they encountered someone. Luvely was impressed.

She had turned around to give Nux some privacy to get undressed and listened as he snuck into the water. “Just tell me, if you need help.”, she offered him and remained in her cross-legged sitting position. “Help.”, came as the immediate answer from him.

“With what?”

“Can’t lift my arms. Hurts.”, he muttered and Luvely could feel him splashing some water at her back. She sighted and dared a peek over her shoulder. He was standing in the middle of the tub, his hands flat on the glistening water surface while he tried to take deep breaths with his eyes closed. “How am I supposed to help you?”

“Get in the water.”, was the abrupt answer to her question. She sighted again and stood up from her spot. “Yeah, of course – not. Just come to the edge. I can’t get in the water.” He opened one eye to look at her an arched his eyebrow. “Why not?” And he closed his eye again.

“I can’t get my clothes wet, dumbass.” Nux snickered. “Take ‘em off then, dumbass.”

“I most certainly won’t.”

Luvely was taken aback by his blunt suggestions. Sure, she was used to the War Boys being shirtless and she remembered the time when she had no real clothes to cover herself as well, but she couldn’t get naked with one of her closest friends. It just seemed – wrong.

“C’mon, Luv! Don’t be such a fuss.” Nux finally looked at her again and saw the unsure look on her face. “Leave your – whatever the hell that thing over your chest is on and get in.” He turned around. “See? I won’t even look and if Slit asks you just tell him you got splashed by the Pups.”

Luvely huffed. “Fine!” And she started to loosen the laces of her heavy boots. She then slipped out of them and removed her pants – fast. She quickly sunk in the water and took a step towards him. “Ok, so what exactly do you want me to do?”

She watched as he shrugged, with his back still facing her. “You’re a great help, Nux.”, she mumbled and took another step towards him as he chuckled. “You said your back and arms hurt?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” Luvely examined his back curiously and couldn’t help but compare him to Slit. Nux was thinner and less muscular, but taller than Slit. He had sagging shoulders and Luvely knew that the driver would look fiercer if he would work on his bad posture.

Luvely carefully placed her hands on his back and noticed how he tensed under her touch. She drippled more water onto his shoulders and back and started to scrub the paint away – as well as slowly massaging his muscles. She noticed how he let his head fall forward and how his shoulders slouched. His skin was surprisingly pink and soft and she discovered a lot of smaller, faint scars on his back and neck, upper arms and shoulders. The paint was already gone, but she kept rubbing his back for several moments. “Your hands. So chrome.”

Luvely grinned and took a step back from him. “Feeling better?” He turned around to her, nodding – and she was sure that he already looked better, more alert. “Good.” And she surveyed his front. His chest, his flat stomach and the beginning of his peaked hip bones which were visible just above the water surface. “Is that an engine block?”, she asked him curiously and reached out to trace the thick, reddish scars with her index finger. He nodded again. “Slit helped me do it.”

And Luvely immediately removed her finger. “Pretty chrome.” She smiled up to him and realized how tall he was in comparison to her. She started to dripple water on his chest and began scrubbing the paint away. He silently watched her, but Luvely somehow knew that something was going on in this War Boys mind.

“Can I ask you something?”

She shrugged. “Sure.” And she smirked internally. She had guessed correct. But Nux hesitated. Luvely could feel his strong and fast heartbeat underneath her hands. “What exactly were you doing the other night? You and – Slit.”

Luvely raised her eyes to his face in disbelief and – slight embarrassment. “You know what I’m talking about. Don’t pretend you don’t.” Of course she knew what he was referring to – she just had no idea how to explain it to someone who had more or less no idea.

"Uhm, I – we – uh, you know”, she could only stammer. “We had, uh,  _sex_ with each other.”

He furrowed his brows. “Hm.”

Luvely saw that he was not very satisfied with her answer. “I, uh, what – what do you know about sex, Nux?”

This time Nux just shrugged and looked at anything but the woman in front of him. “Well, just things by hearsay. Things like Immortan Joe fucking his breeders to get babies or some of the War Boys banging each other in the pits of the citadel. But it’s different with a woman, right?”

Luvely swallowed hard. “Oh, uh, I –“ She was speechless. “I’ve never really been with one of the Boys. They’re all crazy and feral when it comes to rutting. Is it always like that?”

“No. No, it’s not.”, she answered right away. “It’s, uhm, it’s nice actually. – If you have the right person to do it with.”

Nux paused for a second, his light blue eyes lingering on her lips. "Could you show me? How it feels?"

 


	9. Bonded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who reviewed or favorited this Story so far! – I’m sorry for my lack of updates, but sometimes it only takes one feedback to help finding your motivation again. And now, without further ado – please read and enjoy (and give me feedback afterwards…huehuehue.) <3

Luvely stared at Nux in shock.

 "A kiss?", he added and smirked at her., tilting his head to the side and Luvely could see his flushed skin on his face where the clay was already rinsed off. "Yeah, I mean, uh, everything. I – I don't", he suddenly stuttered and she took a step towards him while little waves of water danced around their bodies. She held a single finger up to his mouth, watching how his eyes grew wide – nervous and taken aback by her sudden gentle touch to his parted lips. "It's ok – to be curious, y’know?"

 He swallowed and closed his mouth as her hands traced down his scarred chest. Her eyes gazed at him and she noticed how tall he was and how his bright blue eyes shone in the dim light of the spring cave. "Just promise you won’t tell anyone. _Especially_ not Slit."

 He hesitated first but nodded eventually – taking a deep breath as her hands ran up his arms and little drops of water splashed back into the pool. "I mean, it's just a friendly favor, right?" _Right_ , she thought. It would mean nothing to her. She just wanted to help Nux – help him get some kind of experience in his Half Life. Some affection which he never experienced before. Just a kiss. One single, meaningless kiss.

 She inched closer to him, had to stand on her tiptoes to reach his mouth and she could feel his warm shallow breath on her face. She was fascinated by the contrast of his white thin scars on his pink and surprisingly full lips – and Luvely paused for a moment. Unsure if what they were about to do was wrong, but how could it be wrong to show a dying boy how it feels to kiss a girl?

 So she touched his lips with hers. Careful and slow – and she waited for him to make a move, but he stayed still. Tensed and flustered, so Luvely placed a hand on the back of his skull and managed to press his face to hers, massaging his bald scalp. His breath hitched in his throat as she moved her lips on his, tracing her tongue over his bottom lip, over his scars – and she was amazed by the way they felt against her tongue. They felt funny, yet so different from Slit's. She almost pulled back, but then Nux’ hands reached out to her, placing one shaky hand at her hip, the other one at her neck – and finally, he kissed her back.

 He took the opportunity and slid his fleet tongue inside her mouth while sighing with pleasure, grabbing her face more demandingly – and suddenly Luvely’s eyes snapped open, widened. Just as Nux wanted to press their naked and wet bodies together, she pushed at his chest. Parting them and taking steps back until her behind was pressed against the edge of the tub.

 Nux blinked at her, startled and visibly elated. He swallowed hard and searched for words while Luvely cursed herself for overreacting like that. She had let herself get carried away by him – and his surprisingly good kissing skills. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to, uh, scare you.”, he suddenly mumbled sheepishly and wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

 “Don’t worry. You didn’t scare me, Nux.” Luvely relaxed again and chuckled. She seized him up and down and noticed how much happier and healthier he suddenly looked. “I –“ He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “I think –“, he paused again for a second and Luvely noticed how a light crimson color appeared on his cheeks. “– I just really liked it.”

* * *

 

 Luvely and Nux managed to dry off and repaint in no time; shortly after they had agreed to never talk about their little secret ever again. At least not in front of anyone but them. – They walked through several tunnels together, until they reached the cave with their bunks – and immediately spotted Slit, looking rather pissed. He jumped out of his bunk as soon as he spotted the pair as well, stomping towards them.

 “Uh-oh.” Luvely heard Nux moan under his breath and she nudged his side to shut him up again. “Just – let _me_ talk, ‘kay?”, she whispered hastily and tried to look as innocent as she could; although she already felt terribly guilty for lying at Slit and kissing his Driver behind his back.

 “You!” Slit pointed his finger at her and came to a halt, blocking their path and keeping Nux from escaping. “The fuck have you been?” He talked down to her with dark piercing eyes and all at once Luvely saw how intimidating Slit could be. “I, uh, Nux and I –“, she stammered and couldn’t hold his look anymore, shifting on her feet uncomfortably. “Who do you think I am? Your fucking puppy?! I’m not –“, he shouted until Nux cut him off, pushing his shoulder just slightly to back him off.

 “Hey, Slit – she did nothing wrong. I needed her help and talked her into it.”, he explained to him and Luvely’s heart almost stopped beating for a moment – fearing that everything would slip over the Drivers scarred lips.

 An angry snort escaped Slit’s mouth in response as he shoved Nux hand off his shoulder. “I wasn’t talkin’ to you, mate.”, he growled and puffed his chest provocatively. His pupils were blown and due to the black paint covering his eyes and forehead, he looked even more threatening –  or so Luvely thought. She also noticed how Nux positioned himself. Jaw clenched, trembling fists – they were both ready to fight.

 “I’m sorry, okay? Let’s just –“, Luvely started but Slit cut her off.

 “Back off.”, Slit growled at her when she tried to step in between and thus to keep them apart. She froze and looked up at him, shocked by how aggressively he stared at her. He meant it and so she swallowed hard and did as she was told – until Nux grabbed a hold of her arm, keeping her in place. “She’s not going anywhere, man.”

 “No, Nux”, Luvely pleaded and sighted as her throat started to sting while she tried to gulp back the tears which were close to fall from her eyes. “You’re staying.”, the sick boy demanded – until his wrist was suddenly grabbed hard by Slit. The bulky Lancer twisted the other males arm unnaturally and managed to push Luvely out of the way. She gasped and stumbled forward; eventually falling to her knees and hearing how the two males fought each other.

 The whole thing didn’t stay unnoticed by the present War Boys and soon a circle had formed around them. It was pure entertainment for everyone; but sheer horror for the only female in the room.

 Punch after punch was thrown and no one made a move to stop the fight – so she decided to do it herself.

 She walked over to the pair just as Nux had managed to take Slit into a headlock. The shorter man grunted and cursed under his breath while Nux used his sudden energy to keep him in place with ease. Luvely tried to get their attention, but they didn’t acknowledge her one second – but rather provoked each other some more and finally; she had enough. “Stop fighting for fuck’s sake!”, she yelled at the top of her lungs – and prompt the young Driver to stop, slackening his grip around his friends head – who, in return, sensed his chance to avenge himself. So Slit shoved Nux, hard – however rather than falling forward, Luvely stepped in, causing her to earn the uppercut instead of Nux.

 She didn’t witness much after that, except blurry faces and buzzing noises.

 “You hit her! You fucking hit her!”, Nux yelled, rushed to unconscious girl on the ground and kneeled down as Slit watched them in shock. “Oh, shit.”

* * *

 

 Slit sat next to her still unconscious form and kept observing her every move. He felt somehow terribly sorry for Luvely and cursed his short-tempered nature again. Ever so gently he caressed her delicate features and yet again he was surprised at how foreign and soft her skin felt – even with thick War Paint on. Cautiously he made sure not to brush the bruised chin of hers. It had already started to swell, but thankfully there would be no need to bring her to Organic since the skin did not actually burst open.

 The Lancer eventually wrapped his arm around her shoulder and leaned his head back against the stone wall behind him, closing his eyes. The news Nux had just told him were running through his mind mercilessly; itching and nagging in the back of his head as he listened to the steady breathing next to him.

 The barracks of the War Boys grew quieter as the evening hours passed and Slit was bored. Sure he worried about the girl next to him, but he hated to waste his time – sitting around and doing nothing when instead he could sneak around the Citadel with Nux and find – or start some trouble with him.

 “She still out?”

 Slit’s whole body jerked in response as said persons’ bald head appeared next to him. “God dammit, Nuts!”, Slit hissed and scooted over to the warm body next to him, getting some space between him and his nosy other half.

 “Yeah. Knocked out cold.”, the Lancer murmured and shifted his position uncomfortably; until he heard a stifled chuckle right next to him.

 “The fuck are you laughin’ at?”, he sneered at Nux, who tried to cover up his grin by coughing slightly. “You knocked her the fuck out, mate.”, Nux answered, still snickering – but Slit could only raise an eyebrow. “Yeah, I know – because you coward dodged it.”

 “I’m just saying – you still got it.”, Nux snickered again – only this time Slit joined him. “Fuck you, Nux.” And they pushed each other jokingly – until Luvely stirred in his arm; reaching consciousness again.

 “She’s waking up.”, Nux stated in a matter of fact, while Slit nodded absentmindedly; staring down at the female next to him. “Well – “, the younger male cleared his throat. “– I will leave you two alone then. I think you have something to talk about.” And before Slit could protest, Nux was already gone.

 “Fuckin’ Coward.”, the Lancer could only mumble under his breath just as Luvely opened her eyes. “Who’s a fuckin’ coward?”, she asked groggily and sat up slowly; rubbing the back of her aching head.

 “Uh, never mind.”, he murmured, avoiding her question and reached out for her face instead; inspecting the injury from another angle. “How do you feel?”, Slit asked as he touched her chin carefully.

 “Meh, I’ve had it worse before. I’m fine.”, she answered and tried to force a smile; but winced nonetheless. “Next time just try to hit the right person, ‘kay?” She grabbed his hand that was still on her face and intertwined their clay covered fingers.

 Slit felt a strange feeling which made his heart jump in his chest. He could only compare it to the feeling he got when he was out on the Fury Road – hunting and lancing with Nux. Yet it was still different. It felt warm and – foreign. He liked it; though it scared him at the same time.

 “Let’s take a walk. I wanna show you something.”

* * *

 

 Slit led Luvely through several tunnels and caves until they reached the first stairs leading to the top of one of the Citadel’s huge towers. Luvely had never gone higher than any of the garages reserved for the War Boys. She was in awe as soon as she saw the first bits of green here and there.

 It wasn’t as green as the other two towers, yet it was still more than she had ever seen in her entire life. The orange ground was somehow wet and squishy under her heavy boots and the air up there seemed just slightly more bearable and fresher than anywhere else she had been before. Yet she knew it wasn’t less toxic.

 “The Immortan grows produce on top of the tower; but there isn’t that much growing here.”, Slit explained while walking next to her. “I know a lot of War Boys are assigned to take care of that stuff. They live longer than us others. Dunno why though.”

 Luvely stopped to reach out for the odd looking plants, touching their green leaves tenderly. “I like the color.”, Slit suddenly confessed and kicked at some pebbles on the ground while his hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his dirty pants. “Yeah, me too.” Luvely smiled at him, picked a large leaf and tucked it into one of her own many pockets.

 They walked further until Slit guided her to a secluded and dry spot to sit. To Luvely it was uncomfortably close to the edge of the huge stone tower – although it offered them a perfect view of the Fury Road and its surroundings like Gas Town.

 The sun had already settled down; but Luvely could still see the lights and the thick smoke emerging from the busy place of Gas Town.

 They both sat cross-legged, although Slit let one of his legs almost dangle from the edge. It was quiet until Luvely spoke up since her curiosity got to the better of her. “Do you come here often?”

 She looked at Slit and studied his rough facial features. His dark blue eyes seemed to glisten in the clear moonshine. “Maybe once in a while.” He shrugged and Luvely saw how relaxed he was. She had never seen him like that before.

 “I helped Nux with most of his scars up here. No one could hear him scream and whine, y’know?” A smirk appeared on his face which stretched his own scars in return. “He squealed like a damn Pup.”

 Luvely inspected his body like she already did many times before and reached out for his stomach – tracing her fingers over his naked skin, which only made him tense his muscles. – Luvely took the opportunity and straddled his lap quickly.

 Slit let out a low groan in turn and gripped her hips. He watched silently as her fingers kept stroking over most of his scars until she stopped at the ones on his cheek; the ones that were the most distinctive on his whole body.

 “How did you get those?”, she asked softly and stroked her thumb over the tick metal staples in his left cheek.

 “Half by accident and half out of stupid curiosity.” He sighted and pressed her other hand flat against his right cheek. “I was workin’ under a car and some Guzzoline drippled on my face. It think it was Nux who set it on fire – and I think I just wanted to make it look even when I did the other side by myself with a knife.” He shrugged and bend his legs so Luvely could lean back against them.

 “Sounds awful.”, she chuckled and started to kiss along one side of his face until she reached his jawline; missing his lips on purpose. “They turned out great. – Scary as fuck though.” She pulled back and grinned at him – her remark making him snicker in return. “That’s what I was aiming for.”

 They went quiet again, just observing each other – until it was Slit’s turn to inspect Luvely’s scarification. His rough fingers trailed down her toned stomach till he reached the low and loose hanging waistband of her pants. – Luvely allowed and watched how he slowly pulled it down until he exposed her lower stomach; almost revealing her private parts in doing so.

 One couldn’t really see the faint pinkish marks underneath the dried clay, but Slit knew they were there. He had seen them before and he could feel them underneath his calloused hand. “How did _you_ get those? And what do they stand for?”

 Luvely closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath and bracing herself for the memories which were about to consume her mind again – even though she had tried so hard to ban them out of her system.

“I – I did them myself.”, she finally answered after a long moment of silence. “A long time ago – and I would love to tell you that I did it for a special reason, but where I come from scars like that, especially on women, just mean that you somehow managed to survive after killing something – or someone.” She felt how her throat tightened as she remembered all the blood and pain after she had done it.

 Slit listened carefully and kept staring at those strange scars. There was no design, no real idea behind them.

 “I had to do it – and when I first arrived here those scars saved me from becoming one of Immortan Joe’s new breeders, because I can’t have babies.”, Luvely finally confessed and swallowed hard. It was when the realization hit her that she didn’t feel like a woman anymore. Everything her mother had desperately tried to teach her daughter was gone. Her memories about her family, about who she used to be slowly faded; just like her scars.

When one of her tears finally slipped, Slit was fast wiping it away. “War Boys don’t cry.”, he growled and when Luvely hanged her head in shame, he made sure to raise her head again, gripping her bruised chin forcefully. “I’m glad the Immortan didn’t pick you to be his.”, he hissed through clenched teeth and Luvely couldn’t tell if he was suddenly angry with her. “I’m glad that I was the one who first carried you to the Citadel.” He wiped another tear away and forced her to look him in the eyes. “And I think your scars are shiny – and chrome.”

And when he suddenly kissed her, it was surprisingly tender and passionate.

Slit didn’t know why he had reacted that way – but Luvely made him feel things he just couldn’t explain. The only thing he truly knew was that the strange female had made his life in the Citadel all the better when she came around.

* * *

 

“You nervous?”, Nux asked as he passed a Thunderstick to Slit, who was already standing on his Lancer position.

“No.”, Luvely lied and chewed the inner flesh of her cheek. “Well, you should be. It’s your first Raid with your new Driver.”, Nux reminded her and gave her a clap on her bare shoulder.

“Shut it, Nuts. She’s already freaking out.”, Slit said as he jumped to the floor and joined the two. “I’m not freaking out.”, Luvely started. “I’m fucking terrified.” She let auf a manic laugh and felt how a tight knot of nervousness formed in the pit of her empty stomach. She had puked in the morning after breakfast and she wasn’t too keen about doing it again.

 She could hear Nux’ snickering next to her as she was staring blankly at the wall while Slit was rubbing her back soothingly.

It wasn’t the fact that it would be her first Raid with her own Driver – it was the fact who would be her Driver.

Jenko was the guy who had picked her after she had shown off her skills on the Lancer perch and passed the examination. She knew Jenko; or at least his appearance. He had been one of the older War Pups when she first arrived at the Citadel and was allowed to become one of them.

The problem she had with him was his naivety, his reckless behavior, the fact that he was just too eager to prove himself and to be witnessed as soon as possible. Luvely just assumed that the last fact was true since she had already seen more than one small bump forming on his leg, upper arm and behind his ear – and yet he must have been even younger than Nux. The sickest boys of the Citadel feared dying soft the most – so their only remaining hope was to die heroic; on the Fury Road.

All of a sudden the drums started to play and Luvely snapped out of her thoughts. She could feel the excitement of the other War Boys around her in the open garage – including Slit and Nux. And in that moment she envied them for being such a good team. “Fuck it.”, she cursed under her breath and decided to go find her own Driver.

“Just don’t die today. You hear me?”, Slit managed to whisper into her ear as they shared a short moment behind the pursuit vehicle. Luvely nodded slowly and offered him a bleak smile. “That applies to you, too.” She grabbed the scarf around his; pulled his face down for a quick kiss – and suddenly she felt long forgotten words bubbling up in her throat; making her chest ache with emotions.

“I love you.”

Three meaningful words were swallowed by the noise around them; but still – Slit had heard them and before he could response something – anything; Luvely offered him another sly smile, let go of his dirty old scarf and disappeared into the crowd of painted bodies.

There was only the image of her teary grey eyes left for him to think about as Nux shouted for him to take his position on the Lancer perch.

* * *

 

Eventually Luvely found who she was looking for, sitting on the hood of his car and staring down at his steering wheel.

Jenko was wearing shorts which made the bump in his left knee pit visible. His body was covered in a thin layer of clay while his eyes and lips were painted black. He had no major scars yet – but he had already asked Luvely to help him once he knew what kind of design he wanted. Just like everyone else around her, he wanted to look _shiny and chrome_.

“You ready?”, she almost yelled as she approached him. The drums and shouts around her were getting louder by every passing moment.

As the young Driver looked up at his Lancer, a wide grin appeared on his lips; revealing that one of his upper teeth was now missing. “More than ever.”

“Let’s go then.” She patted him on the knee, forced a smile and made her way to the back of her own Lancer perch. The Thundersticks were secured and ready to be thrown. Luvely had checked them several times; just to be sure. A total of eight sticks in three different sizes were attached on both of her sides – and a fully loaded sawed-off shotgun lay to her feet; just in case.

Jenko started the engine and as it roared to life; Luvely could feel its vibration underneath her feet – and suddenly she felt how her surroundings slowly infected herself with the same enthusiasm.

* * *

 

Luvely and Jenko were the second last of seven pursuit vehicles – including two motorbikes. It didn’t surprise her that the Nux car was leading the whole mission.

Soon they would be entering The Badland – which meant Buzzard territory and Luvely already braced herself for the upcoming defense. Jenko made sure to stay in the outward position of their extended formation – and Luvely was surprised about his smooth driving skills. She disapproved their lack of communication – but somehow she hoped that they would become a team like Slit and Nux. They never seemed to need much verbal communicate. Or at least not when they were out on the road together.

Luvely scanned the horizon for any sign of something worth scavenging or a possible threat – but the only thing she could make out was the blinding sun and the yellow of the many sand dunes in the distance. For a moment she even caught herself thinking about the day she got picked up by a group of raiding War Boys. The day that had changed her life. Maybe they would –

“BUZZARDS!”, the Lancer on the motorbike to their right suddenly yelled and pointed ahead.

Her grip around the open sliding roof tightened immediately as she saw how the two smaller rusty-looking cars did a U-Turn and disappeared behind the high dune again.

“Here we go.”, she mumbled to herself and knocked her fist on the roof. “Jey, watch out. They’re just scouting!”, Luvely informed her Driver and watched how he shifted his gears, speeding up and thus leaving the formation.

“They gonna bring backup, Jenko!” She turned around and saw that the rest of their group was closing the spaces between them, preparing for the counter-strike. “Slow down, man! You’re making us an easy target!” And again she knocked on the roof – and again he ignored her.

“Fuck!”, she cursed under her breath and scanned their surroundings anxiously.

Luvely could see that the rest of their group was catching up – slower than the Buzzards which abruptly appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Luvely counted five – and they were big. “Slow the fuck down, Jenko!”, she almost screeched and reached out for her first Thunderstick.

“We can handle them!” It was the first response Luvely got from her Driver – and it was not the one she had expected. The Buzzards spread out and it was clear that they were going to encircle them.

Jenko drove towards one of the smaller scouting cars while Luvely took up a stance. She balanced the spear in her gloved hand just as she was taught; just as she did in training before – and waited until they were close enough.

She hit her target and watched as the Thunderstick did its job by blowing up and destructing the enemy – but the spikey cars were substantially built and needed more than one spear to be demolished; so she prepared her second lance and waited for Jenko to maneuver their car right next to the Buzzard just as it was about to slice their front tire open.

“Throw already!”, Jenko shouted eagerly and whooped when his Lancer hit the flat unprotected hood and finally blew it up. Even Luvely couldn’t contain the loud cheer which slipped over her lips just as another Buzzard car was blown up by someone else. In the end it took her four Thunder spears to take it out.

Without any further warning Jenko did a U-Turn to come to the rescue of another new pair of Driver and Lancer. He positioned the car on the other side of the Buzzard while Luvely signaled the unknown Lancer to throw his spear in unison with her

Luvely gave the War Boy a thumbs up after the enemy was destroyed by them – and he only grinned in return. “We should head back to the others.”, she said as she leaned over the sunroof and was taken aback, when her Driver shook his head.

“There were five cars and we wrecked three.”

Luvely furrowed her brows and took a look around. The only thing she could see was the rest of their vehicles in front of them and more sand. “They probably fled.”, she suggested and wiped her sweaty forehead, smudging black paint on her fingers.

She couldn’t hear them over their own loud engine, until the large circular blade saw started screeching behind them. When Luvely eventually turned around her heart almost stopped beating. Her mouth went dry as she counted her last three Thundersticks. The only option for them to get out alive was simple – so Luvely almost jumped through the roof, knocking it like a maniac. “Fang it! Fucking fang it!”

For the first time Luvely could see a slight expression of terror on Jenko’s face as he realized in what kind of trouble they were in. “I’m almost out of spears, mate!”, she yelled and heard how the Buzzards behind them drew near.

When Luvely finally found the courage to pick up a lance, the spikey truck was nearly touching the Lancer perch. She held her breath and threw hastily – causing her to miss the hood and hit the shielded roof instead.

When she threw the second last Thunderstick it exploded without causing much damage – and her heart sank as the trucks caught up to them and the only thing left for her to do was to watch how they slowly got jammed between the spikey trucks.

J _ust don’t die today. You hear me?_

Luvely gasped when his voice and his words suddenly echoed in her mind.

She watched as both Buzzards rolled down their windows and she instantly knew what would follow.

_I love you._

_"_ Witness me, Smalls!” – She could hear his Drivers shout and how he sprayed his teeth with chrome even with the loud whirring in her ears which was caused by the ongoing adrenaline rush.

The next moment her body seemed to react by itself as she turned and jumped off her position – leaving her Driver and thus her responsibility to die with him.

_Just don’t die today…_

Luvely repeated his words over and over until she hit the ground and managed to break her fall. She kept her eyes locked on the clear blue sky above her until she heard the big explosion in near distance.

“Witness.”, she finally said out loud and felt her throat tighten as she sat up and watched the puff of smoke emerging from the burning remainings of the vehicle she had been standing on only moments ago.


	10. Numb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t have much to say. I’m just sorry that it took me so long to update :o Hope you like the chapter – and a big thanks to the people who gave me some feedback and Kudos, you really motivated me to finish the chapter! :D

Luvely was picked up by the team of Driver and Lancer who she had helped before. Kato, the Lancer, found her lying sprawled out in the sand.

After driving back to the Citadel in silence, despite the loud roaring of the V8 engine, Luvely disappeared into the crowd as soon as the car was parked – and after she had found an empty corner far away from all the hubbub; she hyperventilated and vomited for the second time that day. Her body shook with fear and disgust. Her knees got weak and forced her to sit. The burning of her throat and the soreness of her body making her weep bitterly.

She remained in that position; sitting in the darkness all by herself while she rocked herself back and forth, trying to calm her nerves – and Luvely didn’t know how much time she had spent in that dim little corner which reeked of her own vomit, but eventually she found the courage to stand up on wobbly legs.

* * *

 

Slit knew that Luvely was safe. At least he knew after seeing her jumping off Kato’s Lancer perch and taking straight off through the crowd. He only got worried when she didn’t come back for the next few hours.

Nux and he only heard what had happened to Luvely and her Driver. They had already been too far gone, but they did hear the explosion when it happened. Not even then was he worried about her. He just knew that she would be alright. She was his War Girl now for god’s sake!

But now he was slowly but steady getting anxious while he leaned against the stone wall where the bunks were, his arms crossed tensely. “Hey Nux?”

It took a moment before he got a sleepy answer. And he noticed that Nux slept a lot lately, even when the other War Boys, Slit included, were still pumped up by the adrenaline.

“Yeah?” The Driver’s pale head appeared out of his bunk, looking down at his Lancer curiously. “Help me find Luv, will ya?”

“She ain’t back yet?”

 Slit clicked his tongue, his eyes still fixated on the entrance. “Nah.”

Long legs were thrown over the edge of the bunk, a bare foot hitting Slit in the back of his head accidentally; causing him to huff in annoyance. “Sorry!”, Nux apologized quickly while putting on his boots. “Where the fuck did she go?”

“I dunno.”, Slit answered after Nux jumped down and scanned the present faces, hoping to spot the only War Girl. Luckily, he spotted her eventually – and he slapped Slit’s shoulder harder than he wanted to when he did so.

Slit saw her a little later; how she stumbled into the cave full of War Boys who immediately started staring at her. Some asking why she didn’t die with her Driver, some congratulating her on her performance and some telling her what a shame it was that the car blew up. And suddenly, she looked like a War Pup again, just a scared little – girl.

He left Nux’ side and marched towards her, pushing away the boys who got in his way; and he saw how she let out sigh of relief when she finally saw him emerging through the small crowd. He gripped her wrist and wasn’t surprised when she let herself get dragged into his arms without any struggle.

* * *

Luvely couldn’t believe that it was still possible for her to feel even shittier than before, but in fact, it was. As soon as her “comrades” assailed her, one or two calling her a coward and a disgraceful War Boy, others whining about the lost car and not caring about Jenko at all, she could feel it.

It all got better when Slit appeared; burying her face in his chest helped her a lot to block out any more comments and questions. His skin was warm, the paint dry and feeling all his scars under her palms assured her that it was real; that _he_ was real, alive.

She finally felt safe again and her heart throbbed harder than ever.

* * *

 

The next day, around noon, Luvely was surprised to see Furiosa, the Imperator herself, approach her in the Repair Bay she was currently trying to clean. As always she looked fierce and serious; like someone nobody should mess with. The present War Boys admired her, not because of her gender, her beauty; but because of her actions and terrific leadership.

Luvely gulped when Furiosa took a stand before her. The older woman was taller and was now looking down at the thin female. Her piercing green eyes even more emphasized due to the black paint around them. Luvely could see the fire burning in her soul.

“Follow me.”, the short-haired woman ordered and Luvely nodded eagerly.

They walked past wild stares until Furiosa felt safe enough to confront the other woman with her matter.

“I heard what happened yesterday.”, Furiosa started and turned around to face the brunette. “I just want you to know that you shouldn’t blame yourself.”

Furiosa stemmed her healthy arm to her chest, her metal prosthesis hanging loosely at her side. She noticed how Luvely stared at it blankly, but chose to ignore. “And now that you have no Driver, I want you to join my War Rig. One of my Lancers died a couple of days ago and I need a replacement.”

Luvely swallowed hard as she remembered being on the road. The rush she had experienced while throwing her Thundersticks and the harsh reality that had followed after everything went downhill. Her palms started to sweat and her throat tightened as tears started to swell; but she tried to hold them back. She didn’t want to cry anymore, not in front of the strong woman in front of her.

“I –“ Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat while looking into those fierce green eyes. “I – can’t.” Luvely didn’t want – **couldn’t** go out and do war again. She was too weak, too scared to do it. Not for a reason like looting others, killing without any good reason; but because Immortan Joe demanded and expected it.

Furiosa looked down at the scared female in front of her; saw how desperately she wanted to seem brave, but failed miserably instead. She noticed her change of attitude; she could see it in her teary eyes. Scared and bewildered and not so sure anymore. She had been there, too.

“I understand.” Furiosa, of course, knew that she could force and order Luvely to join her crew, but she didn’t. The War Girl wasn’t ready yet and Furiosa accepted it. She could wait while her plan was slowly starting to begin.

* * *

 

Again Slit found himself looking for Luvely. He did that a lot lately; fearing he wouldn’t be able to find her someday. His gut feeling told him that Luvely had changed after her first time doing war; but he couldn’t exactly pinpoint why. She just started acting strange.

Like sitting cross-legged at the edge of one of the large tubs of the empty Spring with the back towards him and scrubbing her arms frantically, even though there was no more white paint left to scrub away – kind of strange.

He sauntered over to her, shaking his head in disbelief – and she didn’t even notice him when he was already standing behind her.

“You need help?”

She flinched and turned her head; her blue eyes winded in shock. Her damp long hair stuck to her wet skin and framed her thin face. The steel-blue eyes of hers were bleary and seemed sunken in by the contrast of the faded and smudged black paint around them. She almost looked sick; having lost her tan she once had and without any of her War Paint on.

He noticed how she swallowed hard before she finally answered him. “No.” He frowned at her while she struggled to stand up from her sitting position; so he reached for her upper arm with his gloved hand and could feel how skinny she had become.

“Want me to help you with the paint?”

Luvely shook her head slowly, her eyes fixated on the floor. “I don’t want to wear that anymore.”, she answered while her voice came out like a husky whisper.

Slit suddenly let go of her arm, staring at the woman in front of him. Only then he noticed how pale she really was, how skinny – almost no curves left on her. “What?” He could only stare as she wrapped her arms around herself and started to tremble lightly.

“I said I don’t want to wear it anymore!” Her whole body shook as she sobbed. “I don’t want to do war again.”, she whispered finally and avoided his gaze, turning her head away from him.

“But – you’re a War Boy.”

Luvely closed her eyes with a sigh. “I’m _not_ a War Boy.” And saying those words out loud made her realize that she never was and never could be one. She didn’t belong there; at the Citadel.

“I’m only losing myself here. I’m losing memories of my past and who I used to be.”

Opening her eyes, she saw Slit’s confused face; even though it was hard to tell with his face marred into a permanent grin. “But you’re good at it and you looked chrome at your position.”

“I don’t want to live a life like that anymore.”, she started and Slit heard the desperation in her voice all of a sudden. “There has to be another way to –“

Slit cut her off by grabbing her shoulder and pulling her into his body. The wind was knocked out of her lungs doing that and the grip he had on her neck to keep her in place, hurt her. “What –“

She stopped herself from asking what he was doing when she felt how he tried to rub the thick paint on his body off on her. “You’re stayin’.”, he growled into her hair and proceeded to wipe the paint on her arms.

Her heart ached as she pressed her hands against his chest; trying to push him her way, even though she didn’t want to.

“You can’t just leave me.” 

“And I don’t want to, but –.”, she mumbled into his bare chest while she still struggled to get away from him. He somehow loosened his grip, causing Luvely stumble backwards and grasping Slit again with a yelp.

They both landed in the tub with a big splash; surfacing only seconds later and gasping for air at the same time. Luvely tried to gather herself by wiping wet strands of hair out of her face, while Slit only managed to watch her silently, taking in deep breaths. “Was that really necessary?”, she hissed and immediately noticed how his War Paint was slowly coming off his toned body. Milky drops of water ran down his torso, his arms and face; revealing pale skin underneath.

“Damnit.”, she muttered under her breath and remembered that, in fact, she had never seen Slit without all his War Paint.

“What?”, Slit snarled and wiped the smudged black paint off his eyes and forehead. It was slowly starting to burn and bother him. With his vision blurred like that he could not see Luvely as clear as he wanted to. As he rubbed his eyes, he didn’t notice how Luvely suddenly closed the space between them and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck as soon as he lowered his hands, utterly perplexed.

She pressed their lips together while standing on tiptoes. Soon they were engaged in a steamy kiss, all teeth and tongue – while Luvely let her hands roam his upper body, wiping away as much of the thick clay as she could.

Slit didn’t know what was going on. The one second they were fighting and the other Luvely was attacking him with such blunt force like she never did before. It was the way her delicate hands rubbed, stroked over his skin and the small moans escaping her mouth that slowly drove him nuts – and made his pants seem awfully tight as well.

The ever so tough War Boy growled with lust as one of her hands started pinching his sensitive nipples and grazing her nails over the deep scars on his skin.

Slit inhaled sharply when they broke the kiss. “Whatcha doin’ to me, woman?”

Luvely smiled seductive and teasingly bit at his plump bottom lip.

* * *

 

 

“What does _love_ mean?”, Slit asked absentmindedly while Luvely was resting her head on his chest. They lay in their bunk after re-painting each other again, even though Luvely had resisted at first.

“What?”, the female muttered, her voice strained from tiredness. Slit kept playing with her long hair, letting lose strands rinse through his fingers.

“You said you love me. What does it mean?”

Luvely stirred, before propping herself on her elbows so she could look at Slit. “You really don’t know?”

All of a sudden he felt stupid for asking, but he shook his head anyway.

“Love is a – a feeling you have for people or activities or things. It’s, uh – “She was struggling to find the right words to him. “It feels like doing war. You’re excited when you’re doing it and you’re looking forward to it and when you can’t go it’s just – not good.” She ended her sentence with a frown. “That’s not a good explanation, I guess. But when you just see the person you love your heart beats fast and you feel the urge to be close to them and protect them and it – it just feels warm.”

Slit let out a small chuckle. “I get it.”

He did get it and it was the moment he realized he did love Luvely, too. “Guess I love Nux as my Driver then. Best one in the whole Citadel.”

Luvely blinked a few times, before smiling and resting her head on his chest again. “I agree.”, she answered and started drawing small circles around the many scars on his stomach. “Shame he will die soft here.”, he muttered and fondled with her hair again.

“Why do you say that? Organic is helping him for some time now. He might be fine.”

But Slit knows better. He had seen it happen. Boys as sick as Nux wouldn’t make it – and Slit suddenly thinks about his own sickness, the bumps that are slowly forming on his body. He wonders how much time he has left to spend in the Citadel – with Luvely by his side.

“Would you get another War Boy when I die? Someone to share a bunk with?” Slit doesn’t know why he asked her such a question. He just hopes the answer would be no.

Luvely lifts her head again, arching an eyebrow. “What do you mean? It sounds like you actually want to die.”

Slit shrugged. “That’s what we do. We serve the Immortan until he takes us to Valhalla. Preferably while doing war on the Fury Road. Dying soft is a shame to all War Boys, you should know this.”

Luvely felt the lump in her throat while she held back her tears. She was lost for words. Of course Slit wasn’t any different than anyone in the whole Citadel. He was born as a puppet, brainwashed by a bad man who used others to gain the power he had now – for survival; and survival demanded sacrifice.

“Sure, right.”, she only managed to answer.

It was quiet between them, both only listening to the noises the Citadels makes at night, until Slit broke the silence. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Which one?” Luvely was slowly snoozing off, completely worn out by the events of the past days.

“Would you let another War Boy touch you like I do, if I’m gone someday.”, Slit repeated, growing a little impatient with her lack of response.

She sniffled a laugh and patted his chest, noticing how agitated he got. “You’re not really touching me right now. I might answer your question if you show me what you mean.”

And all of a sudden Slit felt challenged. “I mean something like this.” He let his hand wander down her bare back, down to her bottom where he gripped one of her ass cheeks and gave it a good squeeze.

Luvely giggled. “Even Nux does that to me sometimes, mate.”

“If that’s true then I might have to kill him later.”, Slit growled and simultaneously let his hand wander up to her naked breasts, kneading them while her nipples hardened.

Luvely let out a small yelp when Slit suddenly pinched her nipple between his thumb, just like she did earlier to him. He started to kiss the spot behind her ear which always made her melt while rolling the pink bud between his fingers a little harder – and he felt how her hand slipped into his pants while he nuzzled her neck and kept playing with her soft tits. 

Slit let go of her breast and sucked in a deep breath trough his teeth as she started to stroke his member and plant sloppy kisses on his chest, smearing his clay on her lips in doing so and tasting the somehow salty flavor.

Whenever Slit tried to get into another position, Luvely made sure to push him back down until she was straddling his legs in a crouching position – since their bunk didn’t offer much space. Her boobs very grazing his muscular chest while she grind her hips against his until she felt herself growing wetter.

Slit let his hands roam her body as they engaged in another kiss. It was unusually rough, tongues fighting for dominance and teeth teasingly biting at lips – and the War Boy saw his chance in gaining the upper hand as they parted, both breathless. He flipped her over and grinned triumphantly as she pouted at him. “Buzzkill.”

He snorted and started to fumble with the belts on his heavy pants, now eager to free his dick from its uncomfortable restraint. Luvely watched and licked her lips before she went for it and slapped his hands away. Slit growled and let her proceed.

With swift hands, she unbuckled his pants and was immediately greeted by the sight of pre-cum dripping on her fingers as she started stroking him; after giving his cock a few more pumps, she placed a single sweet kiss to his shaft, looking up at Slit from under her long eyelashes. “Try to keep quiet.”, she purred and smirked as she saw how he swallowed hard.

Luvely started by dragging her tongue up the base and swirling it around the tip a few times, before finally taking him into her mouth. Slit broke silence at this point, letting out a surprised moan followed by several curses as Luvely continued sucking on his throbbing dick.

The sounds her lover made only reminded her of her own arousal, so she slipped one hand into her own pants – soon feeling the wetness between her folds as she kept pleasuring him; bobbing her head and hollowing her cheeks to offer him more.

Slit was yet again surprised by Luvely’s boldness whenever they screwed. Watching her fondling herself while sucking him off was a sight that nearly sent him over the edge. But instead of coming already, he gripped a fistful of her hair and forced her to look up again. He wanted to see how much she wanted and desired it.

Luvely looked up at him with teary eyes, taking in more and more until the tip of his cock hit her throat. She rubbed her clit faster and suppressed the urge to gag, taking in slow breaths through her nose instead. Slit growled, throwing his head back and tightening his grip until he felt her nails rake over his stomach. “Fuck.”, he breathed and loosened his grip again as she pressed her tongue along the underside of his tongue, pumping him faster.

Slit’s climax hit him like a pike of a Thunderstick and he came with a hoarse cry, thrusting his hips into her mouth once more. She clawed at his hip as she swallowed his seed slowly; some of it dripping down her chin, mixing with her spit and in the end his twitching dick was coated in a glistening sheen of her warm saliva. She licked her lips, pleased with her work.

Slit was still breathing heavily when he felt Luvely’s hands on his chest and his shoulders. She bit his neck. “Guess I just showed you what **I** will do to others.”, she purred and felt his whole body tense. “The fuck you will.”, he growled and gripped her arms, pushing her down again and pulling her pants down. “Now you try to keep quiet.”, he hissed as he spread her legs.

  


End file.
